Eternity
by Mairelle
Summary: "Well I think you're being absolutely ridiculous. I mean why do you have to hold back your love for your brother?"  KanamexOC
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

So…Uhm… Big detail: there are spoilers weaved into this story. As for where the spoilers start and end, really I feel like just letting you readers figure out that. Seeing as though initially I loved the story, then the progression and all these twists in the original plot sort of pissed me off, I stopped reading, but got back into it recently and well here I am now—writing a fanfic that hopefully won't be put on a long hiatus. The story skips a lot of the first couple volumes, since I'm just going to assume you readers already know the general background of all the characters, and it's going to start out with my OCs. From there I'll be weaving in the spoilers along with their interactions with the main VK crew. Oh, another side detail… Since I'm too lazy to fill in all the Japanese honorifics, basically the only honorifics that will be used in this fanfic will be 'Onee-chan' between Haru and Miku. The rest gets to be filled in by English terms that are about the equivalent of the respective Japanese honorifics (e.g. "Master/Mistress" for "sama")

Summaries are going to be subject to constant change. (: I'm not really good with summaries that have such a small character limit.

And last but not least...

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. The only thing I own is this story and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Singing"**_

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><p>Chapter 1: Prelude<p>

"MAOKO! " A black and white tabby ran across the dimly lit room gripping a small case roughly the size of a cigarette box in its jaws.

"Maoko, you come over here and give me that case right now! I know you're very smart and you're well aware of how much I need it!" A pale, dark haired girl, who looked she like was in her late teens, shouted at the black and white tabby named 'Maoko'. Her hair was pinned up into a slight bun with a few extra inches of it flowing out of the bun and she wore a pair of star earrings. Located on the upper part of her left arm was a black tattoo (A/N: Of which I literally can't quite describe, so I'll post up a drawing of her [and her brother] so you readers can see.).

"You know shouting at Maoko is useless. She's always super stubborn, Onee-chan," said a bemused boy who looked to be a bit younger than the dark haired girl as he sat at a small two-seat coffee table. His hair was equally as dark a shade as his sister's, but his fringe was slightly highlighted. Under his right eye was a tattoo of two black stars.

"But I'm quite well aware of how smart Maoko is. Watch… MAOKO IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME THAT CASE RIGHT NOW… NO _dinner_ for you." And promptly the tabby ran over to the girl, dropping the case in front of her. "See? She's more obedient than a dog." The girl grinned, popping open a can of sardines and setting it down for Maoko to eat.

So the story starts off with two of our protagonists: Miku and Haru.

(A/N: And I'll unfold more about them as the story progresses…Because I'm too lazy to put it all here, haha.)

"Ne, Onee-chan, why are we always moving around? I mean I'm happy we're finally back in Japan, but I don't even think I remember us staying in one location for more than a couple months," complained Haru.

Miku poured out a couple tablets from the case she was trying to get from Maoko earlier, and dropped them into two glasses of water. "You know exactly why. I don't think I have to tell you more than once." She watched the tablets dye the water red.

"But I'd like to stay around in one location for once. Build relationships, make friends, actually get to know our neighbors! It's getting tiresome having to live like this!" Haru rested his head on his arms.

Miku handed Haru a glass of the ominously red liquid. "But we were in China for like 4 years?"

Haru glanced over at her, then over to the glass, then back at her. "China is a _country_. Even in China we still moved around." He didn't want to take a sip from that glass.

Miku gave him a scolding look, "I know it's bothersome having to move around like this. Haru, stop staring so morbidly at that glass and drink it already. You're going to become awfully cranky and intolerable if you don't."

"It's disgusting. I hate this shit. It's enough that I hate being a vampire, that I hate having to be so dependent on blood. But what's even worse is that we have to drink this red-food-coloring-dyed water that we call 'blood'. I can hardly tolerate its artificial stench and worst of all I have to chug it all down in hopes that I don't end up puking." Haru looked defiantly at the murky red liquid, still refusing to drink it.

"Fine, you want real blood? Here." Miku quickly slashed at her own wrist and let her blood dribble down her arm.

"MIKU…," Haru stared at the river of blood flowing down his sister's arm.

-Drip Drip Drip-. A puddle of blood now covered the floor.

"Go on. _Drink it_."

Haru stared at his sister, slightly mortified. "Onee-chan, you didn't have to—"

"_Drink it_."

Haru hesitantly lapped up the blood from her sister's arm. Pureblood vampires have a tendency to have very enticing blood (or so it's rumored to be). Their blood is a vampire delicacy. Miku fell back onto a nearby couch, startling Haru who was still drinking the blood from her wrist.

"M-M-Miku? Onee-chan? Are you alright?" Haru's face became akin to that of a wimpering puppy's.

Miku was always running around for them, having to constantly do odd jobs to make ends meet. Although Miku had many connections in high places, she despised having to be over dependent on others. To top it off, most of the vampire Nobles weren't aware that she and Haru were still alive. Having decided it was in their best interest to stay hidden from the manipulative Council of Vampires, she decided that they should lay low in the meanwhile.

"S-Sorry. I'm just a bit tired." Miku sighed, looking away, while waiting for Haru to finish his meal.

Haru looked up towards her, guilty that he was still feeding on his sister's blood while she looked like the living dead. "Onee-chan, do you want some of my blood?" He offered, holding up his own wrist.

Miku gave him a deadpanned look, "Unlike a certain someone, I can still tolerate drinking the 'red-food-coloring-dyed water that we call blood'. Besides, your blood tastes disgusting. You're too malnourished. All skin and bones."

Haru made an offended face, "Excuse _me_? Is the pot calling the kettle black? You're not much more than skin and bones either, Onee-chan. But I do admit your blood is rather mouthwatering."

"So you admit your blood tastes bad?"

"I wouldn't know."

As soon as Haru finished his feeding, Miku walked over to the coffee table where her brother's abandoned glass of blood stood. She quickly chugged it down, followed by her own glass. "Don't be wasteful, Haru, these blood tablets aren't cheap either."

Haru scoffed, crossing his arms, and looked away. "Whatever."

Miku's pager, which was lying on the kitchen counter, suddenly buzzed. She walked over to check what the message was, frowned for a moment, then quickly headed out the door, grabbing her coat and sliding two sais into two belt loops at her sides. "I've got some work to do. Keep yourself busy, don't open the door to strangers, don't break the house. I'll be back by 3 a.m. at latest. You better be in bed by then."

"Yes, mother." Haru said under his breath as his eyes trailed after his sister as she left the house.

* * *

><p>Blood splatters covered the walls of a dark, narrow alley. Ashes were scattered amongst the blood splatters as two sais glinted from the light of the moon.<p>

"Ugh, too many level-Es have been lurking around lately. Is there a _rat_ infestation or what?" Miku sighed as she wiped a splotch of blood off her face. She looked down at her sais disdainfully, "Gosh, now I have to clean these again."

"Why don't you just use some of your illustrious super vampire abilities and just _flick _them away or something? I don't even think you need to use those things anyways. Speaking of which, why do you have those sais anyways? Aren't they Vampire Hunter weapons? How can you even manage to hold them without getting your skin burned off or something?" A short, cross-eyed girl said as she glanced over to Miku, then nonchalantly began to file her nails as she thought to herself, '_This girl will probably end up doing all the work for me anyways_.'

"I don't really find it necessary to explain my situation, Takanari Hitomi. I'm probably not going to see you after this anyways." Miku stated as she used a handkerchief to wipe off the blood from her sais.

"Bitch…," Hitomi glared at her, "Sadly I'm probably gonna end up working on a couple more jobs with you before you leave. Good riddance when that happens though. You're such a stick in the mud. It's like you were born with a twig up your—"

"Shhhh," Miku put her palm over Hitomi's mouth, "I think there's another _lurker_ here."

"You cranky skank, there's no more level-Es here, we killed them all—"

A blood curling screech was heard as Takanari Hitomi was promptly sliced in half. Miku jumped back, not even flinching. "Amateurs." She sliced the "lurker's" head off.

"Tch. Another weakling vampire."

Miku looked downward at the upper half of Hitomi, whose face was frozen in an everlasting scowl. "Such a pity you had to die with such an ugly expression. I actually thought you were pretty. Pretty funny. Oh what to tell that dumb Vampire Hunters' Association now? I'll tell them she reacted too slowly…but died and honorable death in combat nonetheless. Looks like I'm not going to see her again after all."

(A/N: I couldn't help it. Miku has to be at least a little bad-ass…before romance [hopefully doesn't] turn her into a ball of mortifying mush.)

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><p>[Back to Haru]<p>

'_Well, Onee-chan never said I couldn't leave the house…I need some fresh air anyways_.' Haru thought as he grabbed a jacket and headed out the door, "Maoko, take care of the house while I'm gone okay?"

_Meow. _

"Good girl." Haru grinned as he locked the door, assuming that was a compliant 'meow'.

Miku wasn't the only one with a job. Every night when his sister was out of the house, Haru would go to a local bar to make some spare cash. He would play the piano. (A/N: Oh what were you thinking?) However, considering how often Miku made them move around, it wasn't always easy trying to negotiate deals with the various bar owners he had to associate with.

"Hey Mr. Watanuki! I'm here for work," Haru called out, as he casually strode into the bar, the door bell chiming as it opened and closed.

"Oh Haru, good evening! You're early as usual, but business is still a bit slow right now, so you can just relax for a bit," Tarou Watanuki smiled, giving Haru a slight welcoming gesture as he continued to polish some glasses. Tarou Watanuki was a middle-aged man, who was both the bartender and the owner of the bar _Pastel_. He had a kind smile and a stern way of running his business. When Haru waltzed into his bar the first time, he wanted to escort him out of the bar right away, until he heard Haru's piano playing and decided it would be a good tranquilizer for the sometimes rowdy drinkers in the bar. The grand piano in _Pastel_ had become a decorative piece in the bar for a long while ever since the last piano player died of old age. Haru's presence and his piano playing was a breath of fresh air and it made Tarou pleased that the piano wouldn't be so lonely either.

"Nah, I think I'll just start playing. I'm feeling a bit off today, and playing a few tunes will probably calm me down," Haru said as he lifted the piano's cover. He sat down on the piano stool and stretched his fingers before starting off with _Clair de Lune._

"Talented as usual. So who plays that one?" A slightly sultry voice inquired.

"Why hello Miss Tsujita. It's by Claude Debussy." Haru gave a gentlemanly smile as he continued to play the song effortlessly.

"It's beautiful. Haru why don't you take up a permanent job here once you get a bit older? You already charm all the ladies that come to this bar and keep those hyena-like buffoons, who call themselves _gentlemen,_ quiet," Sawako Tsujita said as she lit a cigar. Tsujita was a charming lady in her mid-thirties who often came to _Pastel_ to get a drink and a breather from her supposedly overbearing husband.

"Sorry, no can do, Miss Tsujita. My sister and I have to move around a lot, so I don't know how long we'll be staying in town," Haru smiled apologetically. As much as he loved this bar and the people that worked here and came to visit, he didn't want to become _too_ attached. "_Nocturne_."

"Oh? Chopin? Wow you must be really down today, Haru. Quite a sad playlist today, huh?" Watanuki paused his glass polishing for a moment and raised his eyebrow at Haru.

"N-No… Not really…," Haru's face reddened a bit.

"Is someone bullying you, Haru?" Tsujita tried to hide her amusement, "Or are you a bit smitten with someone?"

"N-N-N-NO!" Haru's face began to imitate a tomato.

"How adorable!" Tsujita and Watanuki chimed in unison.

"Jeez, you two tease me too much," Haru sighed as he tried to regain his composure.

Soon more people began to enter the bar as the clock hit eight and more people were finished with work.

"Maurice Ravel._ Jeux d'eau_."

Time passed by quickly at _Pastel_, and before Haru realized it, it was already 2 a.m.

"I'm done for tonight, Mr. Watanuki, gotta get home before Onee-chan realizes I left the house. Otherwise she'll beat me black and blue." Giving a sheepish smile, Haru recovered the piano and was about to leave.

"Here, Haru, don't forget your coat," Watanuki handed Haru his coat and slipped a wad of bills into his coat pocket, "Your pay for this week."

"Wooow! There's so much this week! Are you sure you want to pay me this much?" Haru's eyes widened.

"Consider it a token of my appreciation. Now hurry along and get home before I reconsider!" Watanuki shooed him off.

"Thanks Mr. Watanuki!" Haru ran off waving towards Watanuki.

"Haru, watch out!" Watanuki yelled, shutting his eyes at the oncoming collision.

"Wha—Oomph!"Haru had crashed into a customer that was walking into the bar.

"Haruuu, you're supposed to pay attention to where you're running!" Tsujita teased while blowing out a ring of smoke.

"Ow… I'll remember that next time… S-sorry, sir!"Haru quickly stood up and offered a hand to the male he had just crashed into.

"It's okay, haha," The male accepted Haru's hand, "Oh? Are you the piano player I've heard so much about?"

"Huh? H-heard so much about? Wait how do you know I play piano?" Haru's face flushed.

"Your fingers are really long and slender, but it was really a lucky guess I suppose?" The male appeared to be in his mid-teens. He was slightly shorter than Haru, fairly thin, and his eyes gave him the appearance of a very kind person.

"O-Oh…" Haru blushed even more.

(A/N: Yes, yes there is slight, fluffy, shounen ai in this fanfic. Beware.)

"Why don't you play a little tune for me to make up for crashing into me like that?" He spoke in a jocosely manner, but Haru thought it sounded like a fair repay.

But then an idea popped up in Haru's mind, "How about you tell me your name as well?"

"Only if you tell me yours."Another gentle smile from the man.

"Haru." Haru held his hand out for a respectful shake.

"Natsume." Natsume ignored his hand and instead gave Haru a light peck on the cheek.

"W-W-W-WHAT?"Haru stammered, eyes widened, mouth agape, and hand frozen in mid-air.

"I studied in France for two years, it's a greeting gesture that rubbed off on me. Sorry, did I disturb you?" Natsume smiled apologetically.

"Is it really a greeting, Natsume?" Watanuki teased pointing to his own cheek, "How come I never get a kiss, Natsume?"

"_Spring_ and _summer_!*What a fateful encounter!"Tsujita followed in suit of Watanuki's teasing.

"Oh you two old geezers, quiet down! I'd like to hear some of Haru's infamous piano playing in peace, thank you very much," Natsume said while sitting down at a table near the piano.

"OLD?" Watanuki and Tsujita shouted.

"Shhhh," Natsume shushed them, lightly chuckling.

'_Ohhh, he has a pleasant laugh_,' Haru face reddened when he realized what he had just thought.

"Got the sudden jitters, Haru? Or are you actually quite smitten with a certain someone?" Tsujita gave him a sly, knowing look.

"N-N-NO…!"Haru blushed even more.

"Stop teasing him so much, Sawako, it might ruin his concentration." Natsume playfully glared at Tsujita.

"You're lucky you have a pretty face, Natsume, otherwise I would've smacked you for calling me by my first name when you're so much younger than me," Tsujita gave out another puff of smoke, swinging her glass around towards Natsume.

"Oh so you admit you're old now?" Natsume teased.

"No, I'm saying you're a little kid."

"I'm twenty today, thank you very much," Natsume stuck his tongue out at Tsujita.

"Are you sure you're 20? You still look like a kid." She scoffed.

"So what do you plan on playing, Haru?" Watanuki asked, ignoring Natsume and Tsujita's little spat.

"_Happy Birthday_."Haru grinned while holding up a peace sign. He uncovered the grand piano once again and sat down on the stool. "Everybody ready?"

"_**Happy Birthday to you…"**_

When everyone in the bar had finished singing happy birthday Natsume smiled and thanked them graciously.

"You weren't seriously going to consider that song sufficient pay back for crashing into me did you?" Natsume tilted his head to the side and gave Haru a slight smirk, "Tarou, a martini please."

"On the house," Watanuki grinned, "For the birthday boy."

"N-No… I wasn't…," Haru pouted and began to play another song.

"Oh? This is a really nice song. What is it?" Natsume's kind smile resurfaced as the whole bar was enveloped with the peaceful music of Haru's playing.

"Claude Debussy…" Watanuki stated in a slight daze from the sudden lethargic mood the bar was filled with that had started from Haru's playing.

"…_Arabesque_," Tsujita continued after Watanuki, also feeling quite languid once the music started. She giggled a bit, beginning to show signs of drunkenness, "Haru plays this song often…"

"Well Haru certainly is the perfect tranquilizer for _Pastel_." Natsume rested his head on his arms, contentedly taking periodic sips from his drink.

"See Haru? You really should stay around longer! Natsume agrees!" Tsujita giggled.

"Well I didn't exactly say that…But I wouldn't say I don't want you to stay," Natsume gave a heartbreaking smile that made many of the females in the bar swoon a bit.

"What a lady killer." Watanuki rolled his eyes and went back to preparing more drinks.

"I'm flattered, but I really don't think I can… After all it's up to Onee-chan—" Haru shyly stated but stopped midway after noticing the person that had just entered _Pastel_.

"Why… Speak of the devil." Watanuki looked over to the door as well. The whole bar was suddenly silent and the chime of the door bell echoed throughout the bar.

"Haruuu…Funny seeing you here. It's 3 a.m. and I see you're obviously not in bed." Miku smiled evilly.

"Onee-chan…What a …delightful… surprise…," Haru wiped the perspiration that suddenly formed on his forehead.

"So I see you left Maoko in charge of house?" Miku sat down at a stool at the bar counter, "Tarou, a Bloody Mary please. _Extra bloody_."

"Spare me, Onee-chan… I was just trying to save up money to buy you a nice birthday gift…!"Haru felt like running for his life, but he knew it would've been a futile attempt, as Miku would easily catch up to him.

"Oh, I hope it's going to be a _really _nice gift." The sais at Miku's sides glinted under the light of the bar.

"Cross my heart and hope to live?" Haru decided to try playing something on the piano to calm Miku down.

"You mean die?"

"No…Live…Preferably..."

"Then you better hope it's going to be a nice gift."

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><p>Well that's the end of chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it! As for the asterisk [from "<em>Spring<em> and _summer_!* What a fateful encounter!"], the joke is a reference to their names. "Haru" means "spring" and "Natsu" from Natsume means "summer". Yeahhh. It amuses me to make puns out of names (no not really)… There will be another pun with names later on (and most likely that'll be the last of it—sorry to those of you who find puns distasteful). This was sort of like a prologue... so there's not much interaction with the actual Vampire Knight characters. But worry not! Some of them show up in the next chapter! *smiles meekly*


	2. Chapter 2: Expired

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far P: … For those of you that extremely hate shounen ai (A.K.A. homosexual stuff) even to the point of being homophobic with hives and everything… Don't read (or if you love this story so much you can't stay away from it, continue [haha… In my dreams.])? Or if you can tolerate light fluff—since that's all there will be—continue on and don't mind my rambling!… Or just imagine Haru as a girl *smiles sheepishly*, since so far (and yes I have realized it), he's acted pretty girly *sadface*. There is a lot of name censoring during the flashback scenes (but they're pretty easy to guess I suppose), so sorry if some of the weird looking words confuse you. Oh… Another thing… I honestly don't know where the story takes place (as in where in Japan… a city or anything), so I just picked a random city in Japan that I somewhat know of. If anyone knows, please tell me, and I'd be glad to edit that. (:

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. The only thing I own is this story and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess" **_(Yeah, since I doubt there really will be much more singing in this fanfic [however I will clarify if there is any], this style of font will usually be for flashbacks)

"_Reading to oneself"_

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><p>Chapter 2: Expired<p>

Miku rested her head on the coffee table, sighing for about the thousandth time. Her brother was finally in bed and she was simply exhausted. However, she simply couldn't sleep. Memories of which she buried deep in her mind began to resurface, and after so many days without sleep, it was becoming harder for her to push them away.

" _**Hey, Mommy, does this mean I'll be marrying my baby brother when I get older?" a young Miku who appeared to be around seven years old asked her mother as she cradled her newborn baby brother.**_

"_**Possibly, you never know"**_ Her mother's face who was slightly blurry in Miku's memory replied with a soft, considerate voice.

"_**HEY! MIKU! You little brat! That's completely unfair! Why do you get to hold my darling son before I get to?"**_ Miku's father whose face was also slightly blurry replied with a jokingly angry tone.

"_**You were too slow, Daddy." Miku stuck her tongue out.**_

"_**Yes, dear, you were too slow," Her mother teased.**_

"_**Well I'm the father! K—me wouldn't be here without my half of the job!" He retorted.**_ Miku's memory began to fade a bit more, as the names and faces from her memories felt unclear after so many years of having to push them into a corner of her mind.

"_**Don't be so crude, H—ka !" Her mother smacked her father over the head.**_

"_**I'm just telling the truth!"**_

"_**You're so funny, Daddy"**_ It felt like too many years had passed.

_Meow._

"Oh, Maoko… Can't sleep either I see?" Miku turned her head to face the tabby.

_Meooow._

"I see… Yeah the days have been getting colder. I suppose that's what you get for being in Japan during the winter." Miku stood up to prepare another glass of blood for herself.

_Meow._

"What? What do you mean this stuff is bad for me? I'm a vampire, I live off blood." Miku chugged down the blood and began to prepare another glass. She quickly downed the second one too.

_Meooooow._

"You're being silly. It's not like I can just attack some random person out on the streets and feed on them." _Third._

_MEOW._

"I know they're not cheap… and I know I technically COULD attack a random person… But then I wouldn't be able to get jobs from the Vampire Hunters' Association." _Fourth._

_Meow…_

"Just one more." _Fifth._

It was 10 a.m. and Miku still couldn't find the urge to sleep. "This is worse than jetlag."

Maoko had run off somewhere, having seemingly given up on Miku. She sighed and sat back down, tired from pacing around out of restlessness.

"I need to keep myself occupied…" Miku sighed again. In that moment, Maoko jumped on top of the coffee table and rested a paw on Miku's head. It seems Maoko had also brought something along with her. A letter from the Cross Academy. "Wow, cats really are good listeners."

Maoko gave (what seemed to be) a huff of exasperation and jumped off the table.

Miku traced the neat cursive of the letter with her hands, "I think I received this letter a long while ago…"She felt nostalgic, staring at the old fashioned wax letter seal stamped with the Cross Academy seal, "Kaien is probably still as old fashioned as always… Hmm, Cross Academy…"

Miku fastened a scarf around her neck and picked up her coat, slipping the letter into it. She decided she would read it on her way to the academy. She quickly jotted a short note and left it for Haru on the coffee table. Cross Academy was about two hours away, with a train ride in between some walking. At the last moment before leaving the house, she decided to take her sais with her. She doubted she would even need them, but the feeling the cold metal kept her emotions at bay.

* * *

><p>"<em>Dear, Miku. I know you have already decided to take care of Haru on your own, but if you ever need a place to go, you're welcome to join my humble abode. Recently I have started up the Cross Academy along with a Night Class for vampires in hopes of bringing humans and vampires just a little closer. I'm sure by the time you receive this letter you'll already get wind of me doing so…"<em> Miku had just arrived at the train station, the walk being only about fifteen minutes away from her apartment. She purchased a ticket, temporarily putting the letter aside to continue it later, and waited for the train to arrive.

"The train will be arriving in two minutes. Please stay clear of the doors until the passengers have exited the train."

Miku pulled her scarf closer to her face as she watched the water vapor from her breath condensate and form a thin white fog around her head. It was cold, and the two minutes felt like hours.

"_**Mommy! Look I made a snow angel!" A seemingly-seven-year-old Miku shouted exuberantly as she rolled around in the snow.**_

"_**What a beautiful angel, Miku!" Her mother giggled. What Miku thought was a snow angel was really just a rectangle, formed by Miku rolling around in the snow instead of doing 'jumping jacks' while laying down like you're supposed to.**_

"_**Miku, that's a box," Her father snickered.**_

"_**H— ka ! Don't be mean to Miku! She's just a child!" Miku's mother scolded her husband.**_

"_**She's more mature than she looks. Just like the rest of us…"**_ Her father's voice faded off into the distance as the sound of the train arriving caused Miku to break out of her trance.

"Going to Karuizawa? Enjoy your trip, Miss!" The ticket checker greeted and hole punched her ticket as Miku boarded the train.

"Thank you." Miku replied politely while half in a daze.

"Are you okay, Miss?" The face that greeted her quickly went from welcoming to worried.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you. I'm just feeling a bit light headed." She gave a curt bow and went to take a seat.

"I'll get a hostess to bring you some refreshments."

"Th-thanks." Miku looked out a window. _'I feel assured that mankind hasn't yet lost all hope. There are still kind people out there.'_

"_**Miku, I don't necessarily hate humans, and I hope you don't grow up to hate them either. Although they often misunderstand us, there are still good people out there."**_ Miku's mother's soft voice rang in her ears. Although her mother was usually very lively and strong, there were times when she would lapse into a deep thought. When that happened, Miku's mother would often tell Miku things—some advice or lessons—as if telling her a deep secret, but Miku would only ever respond to her mother with looks of curiosity.

"Miss, what would you like to drink?" The hostess pushed a cart of refreshments up next to Miku's seat.

"Oh, um, I'll have some chilled water please, no ice." Miku's head suddenly started to pound. As she reached out for the cup of water, her hand was shaky. Before she knew it, she had accidentally spilled the water. "OH! Ahhh, sorry!"

"It's no problem, Miss, but are _you_ okay?" The hostess tilted her head with a look of worry.

"I just have a headache sorry." Miku's head continued to throb.

"Would you like some aspirin?" The hostess bent down to open a cabinet in the cart.

"Yes, please. Another cup of water too please. Sorry again," Miku held one hand to her head and held her other hand out for the water and aspirin.

"Here, how about I just put the water in your cup holder. Here's your aspirin," The hostess handed Miku a couple pills.

"Thank you again." Miku swallowed the pills dry and proceeded in dropping a blood tablet into her cup. As the tablet dyed the water red, she slipped into another trance.

"_**B-baby brother? Uncle R— do ?" A young Miku watched as her uncle held her baby brother's wrapped up body near a coffin. She was underground in a very dark place. All she could feel was fear. "BROTHER?"**_

"Are you sure you should be having wine with that headache of yours? A hangover won't help you very much, Miss," The ticket checker had walked by Miku and noticed the cup of red liquid, assuming it was wine.

"Oh, it… calms the nerves…?" Miku smiled meekly, quickly downing the blood before anyone good a close whiff of it and noticed it was blood. She breathed a sigh of relief as her headache slowly started to fade, but then her heart began the mimic the pounding from her head. _'I never thought vampires could get heart attacks…'_ Her breathing began to accelerate and she quickly gripped at her throat.

"_**It's such irony that this baby was named 'K—me ' like you. That's what got me started thinking of this. Rather than just devour this little baby in a haste and that's it… I thought it would be far better to do THIS, using it to bring you back to life so that I could devour you instead, and earn far more power this way… Isn't it a far better idea…? What do you say of it, of ancestor of my Kuran clan…?" Miku stared at this horrifying scene, hiding behind the two giant stone doors that were slightly ajar. Everything was dark. The smell of her baby brother's blood shrouded the room, and it's scent rolled off in waves towards her. Why? Why was her uncle holding her brother like that? He's bleeding so much! 'Someone…! Someone help my brother! HELP HIM!'**_

Miku began to hyperventilate.

"MISS? Are you okay?" The hostess was back again, staring, mouth agape at Miku who seemed to be having a heart attack.

"I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-fine." Miku forced what little energy she had to try to assure the hostess she was okay, but it wasn't really working out so well.

"I'm going to call an ambulance! Mr. Hozuki stop the train!" The hostess turned and was about to run off.

"N-N-N-NO. It's F-F-F-FINE." Miku's nails dug into her throat until they drew blood.

"Miss, you're bleeding!" The hostess ran back to Miku and held a towel to Miku's throat, trying to stop the bleeding, temporarily distracted from the idea of calling an ambulance.

"Ms. Sawatari? What's wrong?" The ticket checker ran over to the hostess to check on the situation, "Oh good Lord! Miss, hold on, I'm going to call the ambulance!"

"N-No…" Miku's voice weakened, her vision doubled, and soon she lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>"W-Where…? Where am I?" Miku croaked out while trying to move one of her limbs.<p>

"Oh, you're awake. You're at Cross Academy, Miku," a kind voice replied.

"H-Huh? Cross Academy?" Miku slowly turned her head towards the voice. It was Kaien Cross. "H-How?"

"After you lost consciousness, your condition seemed to stabilize. The train's on-board nurse declared that it was okay for you to get sent to a hospital at the next stop, which happened to be where you were heading." Kaien smiled gently, the glint from his glasses that were reflecting the light from outside hid most of his expression from Miku.

"O-Oh…" Miku turned her head away from the glare of light and lifted her arm to cover her face. "T-too bright…"

"Sorry, Miku," Kaien closed the blinds, "It's lucky of you that they found my letter in your bag and recognized the seal. They called me up right away after looking my contact up in a phonebook. After that I insisted you didn't need to go to a hospital and that you needed _special medication_ which I had at my school."

"F-funny as ever, Kaien," Miku tried to sit up.

"Here, Miku," Kaien tossed her a pouch of red liquid, "From my secret reserve."

"I didn't think you drank blood, Kaien," Miku said jokingly. She began to regain some of her strength as she bit into the bag and began to drink the blood. Pausing to speak after the bag was three-fourths empty, she said, "I mean after all, I know you Vampire Hunters have some vampire blood in you, but aren't you supposed to be the 'Vampire Without Fangs'?" Miku continued to down the rest of the blood in the pouch.

"Well, I don't drink blood, but sometimes the students of my Night Class aren't completely satisfied with the tablets… So I always carry back-up rations just in case." Kaien rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Speaking of the Night Class… how are _those two_?" Miku's stare pierced through Kaien.

"They're doing fine I suppose…," Kaien shifted his feet a bit, chuckling nervously.

"You _suppose_?" Miku's eyes narrowed. "I thought that after living a good 200 years you'd know how to take care of a couple of vampires. Young, juvenile vampires."

"Well technically Kaname isn't juvenile…," Kaien walked over to her coat and reached into one of the pockets for Miku's case of blood tablets.

"K-K-Kaname…" Miku felt her vision double again. "K-Kaname… _Kaname_… So that's what his name was…"

"You didn't seriously forget did you?" Kaien's eyes widened, "Miku… Did you try to erase your own memories?"

"N-N-No…I didn't…Or at least…" Miku, who had finally managed to stand up a little, quickly collapsed back onto the bed, "I didn't try to on purpose…I think…"

"Your body must've kicked in… You had to take on a great deal of responsibility to take proper care of your brother and keep running around like this." Kaien's brows furrowed. "Your body must've subconsciously made your vampire abilities kick in and try to slowly erase your own memories…"

"Y-Yeah… I've been remembering a lot lately—" Miku doubled over as if she just got kicked in the stomach and began to start coughing out blood. Her blood was oddly colored though… It wasn't red… It was almost a purplish black.

"_**Take it, not just the blood, have even its soft flesh too. Kuran blood, the thickest of all that exists…" As soon as the words left his mouth, Miku's uncle's throat was crushed half way by what appeared to be a rotting hand. Miku muffled her cries while watching from the small opening of the two large stone doors. **_

_**Her uncle started to cackle, "Don't go forgetting who it was that opened the lid of that coffin and brought your filthy carcass back to life. It was me…! I'm your owner now, so be an obedient boy while I go and devour your lif—" Her uncle was suddenly struck to the ground by the rotting corpse, which Miku now realized was really a vampire. A very powerful and ancient vampire. **_

"_**Hahaha…It would have been better for you to have obediently let me devour you! The baby's life and my blood are nowhere near enough for your body to be fully restored to life…" Her uncle laughed sinisterly. **_

"—ku? Miku? Miku?" Kaien shook Miku's arm trying to get her to snap out of her trance.

"O-Oh… Sorry… What did you say?" Miku covered her face with her hands. All these flashbacks were getting too tiresome.

"Have you been taking proper care of yourself?" Kaien gave Miku a stern look and then attempted to wipe the minute trace of the purplish black blood off her chin. "Miku… are all your memories resurfacing at once?"

"S-sort of." Miku breathed a heavy sigh of disdain.

"Miku, your relapses must be a result of the lack of sufficient blood you've been having." Kaien stared at her case of blood tablets.

"Kaien, I don't think that's the problem… I've been downing glasses and glasses of those blood tablets!" Miku shook her head, rubbing her face with her arms in exasperation.

"Miku, you don't understand… These tablets…," Kaien kept staring at the pills, "these tablets are—"

* * *

><p>"—Expired?" Tsujita stared at the cigarette she was smoking, "I've never seen expired cigarettes… CAN they even expire?"<p>

"Well they don't technically have a _manufactured date_ for expiration, but they do tend to get stale and end up tasting horrible. They _should_ have an expiration date though. Sometimes really old cigarettes can be somewhat lethal—more lethal than they already are I mean." Watanuki nodded, while pouring a glass of cognac for Natsume.

Tsujita looked at her cigarette a bit cautiously, "This isn't just some lie to get me to stop smoking is it? Because I smoke about a pack a day and I don't think I'm ready to let go of that addiction…"

"Well it's common knowledge that smoking isn't good for anyone," Natsume took the cigarette out of Tsujita's hand and rubbed it, lit side down, onto the bar counter, "It's especially bad for second-hand smokers."

"Hey that's my cigarette!" Tsujita cried out.

"Hey that's my counter!" Watanuki followed.

"And I'd like to live a few more years more than what you're about to kill off!" Natsume said, mimicking the same tone that Tsujita and Watanuki had just yelled with.

"Aw, can't you guys just get along?" Haru chuckled while playing the piano.

"Play a cheery song for me, Haru baby!" Tsujita nagged, "Maybe it'll cheer me up since your _boyfriend_ just wasted my cigarette!"

"B-B-B-B-B-BOYFRIEND? He's not my boyfriend! I-I-I-I DON'T SWING THAT WAY!" Haru blushed furiously.

"Oh look what you did to my _girlfriend_, now he can't even play a song!" Natsume teased.

"I'm not your girlfriend! I'm… _I'M A GUY_!" Haru yelled out defiantly. Watanuki and Tsujita simply snickered at him, while Natsume gave a full hearted laugh. _'Oh man… it's that laugh again… God… it just sounds so… so pleasant to the ears…'_ Haru thought. _'His smile isn't so bad either…'_

"Natsume, stop teasing him so much! It looks like so much blood has flowed to his face that he might even pass out!" Watanuki chuckled.

"Hey Haru, isn't it a bit late? Won't your sister come to beat you up again?" Natsume stared at Haru curiously.

"N-Nah…" Haru blushed at Natsume's sudden piercing stare, "She left a note on the table today saying 'I'll be away for a bit. Not sure when I'll be back'. Usually that means she'll be gone for about a couple days to a couple weeks." Haru then thought to himself, _'She's been on a couple assignments from the Vampire Hunters' Association like that, so I'm pretty used to this… but… I hope she took enough tablets with her…'_ His face suddenly filled with worry.

"—aru? Haru?" Natsume seemed to suddenly appear in front of Haru's face, "Is something wrong? You suddenly slipped into a daze and didn't reply to me."

"WAHHH! TOO CLOSE!" Haru fell backwards, off the piano stool.

"I've never seen you so… _uncoordinated_, Haru," Tsujita said, more than mildly amused, "I only started noticing you being all clumsy and stuff since you met Natsume."

"W-What?" Haru looked stunned. He quickly got up off the floor and sat back onto the piano stool.

Then suddenly Tsujita and Watanuki gave him a knowing look.

"No… NO…. NONONONONO!" Haru blushed, realizing what they were thinking, "It's not like that!"

Tsujita and Watanuki suddenly started prancing around in circles together, making kissy noises with a fox-like expression.

"NO! NOOO! You're WRONG! SOOO _wrong_!" Haru cried tears of embarrassment, not noticing Natsume who had once again snuck up behind him.

"Haru…" Natsume whispered into Haru's ear.

"W-W-W-WHAT?" Haru turned around swiftly and attempted to bat away Natsume, but Natsume got his timing perfectly and managed to land a kiss on Haru's forehead.

Haru's face turned beat red as he held both of his hands to his forehead as if he just got smacked really hard. "N-N-N-NATSUME…YOU…!" Haru squirmed around in one spot for a moment, then quickly jumped back and away from Natsume.

"Sorry, Haru… You're just too cute to tease." Natsume, Tsujita, and Watanuki said in unison.

* * *

><p>There's the end of that chapter! I feel so accomplished! Two chapters in less than a week! *happyface*. Well there was a bit more of that fluff in this chapter than the last (sorry again to you homophobes)! By the way I had to google quite a number of things (such as the information about the cigarettes—I'm a minor, people! I don't smoke! Nor do I really plan to!). Oh and if you're wondering… Yes, I did quote some words from the manga (this is what I meant by weaving spoilers!). The names were censored out for plot building purposes (just saying this incase you got confused at the flashback scenes in the story where names were like "K— me"). I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too! The next one… Probably won't come the next day or two…but I'll try to get one or two done over the weekend, then have my friend (my beta reader who was too lazy to join ) help me sort out through most of the typos and whatnot. Thank her, too (in your reviews I suppose?)! She motivated me to actually want to put up this fanfic here! Oh, FYI, you readers, if I don't get a suitable amount of reviews by the time I post up the next chapter… Be warned. I've had enough of lowering my pride on and begging for reviews (reference to my previous stories if you've ever read them) and I'd much rather bribeblackmail. I've already been evilly plotting crack chapters for fillers with my beta as we walk laps on the track during aerobics class (yes she is my iRL friend [heart]), and we've cooked up some really silly ideas. But who knows. Maybe you guys actually want a crack, plot-filler chapter. Teehee. Ciao, until next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

[Insert some wise words].

[Insert credits to the reviewers].

Joyee, I love you. Shirly, I love you, too. Rose, too [heart]. Also any of my other iRL friends that chose to read this… As well as you people who I don't know that read this. Haha.

Sometimes I really wish FanFiction let people tag more than just two genres. I would've added angst if they allowed a third (yes, this is foreshadowing).

Yes, there is still some censoring in Miku's memories.

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. The only thing I own is this story and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Reunion<p>

After resting a few more hours in bed in an effort to regain her energy, Miku had hardly noticed it was night already.

"Where are all your students, Kaien? I'd like to meet your illustrious Night Class." Miku asked while twisting a few strands of hair with her fingers.

"Oh they're attending a dance with the Day Class," Kaien replied nonchalantly.

"… Are you insane?"

"Miku, I assure you, these are high class vampires attending the Night Class," Kaien folded his hands at his desk, "They're smart enough to know who to bite and who to not bite."

"If you're so sure, Kaien…," Miku sighed. There was no arguing with this happy go lucky fool. He was too stubborn about bringing vampires and humans closer together, "Hey, Kaien… When are you going to let me leave Cross Academy…?"

* * *

><p>The corridors of the Cross Academy were dimly lit, but it was still a comfortable amount of light for Miku. After about an hour of wandering around, Miku found her way to the library. The Cross Academy library was filled with thousands of books of old literature. It was located near one of the old dorms, and had probably been long forgotten.<p>

'_To be honest, the library isn't very well organized,'_ Miku laughed lightly, _'but at least it gives me something to do.'_

She sighed, "Stupid Kaien, not letting me leave until the new supply of blood tablets arrive." Suddenly the scent of blood overwhelmed her nostrils, as she felt her head start to pound and her breathing accelerate. It wasn't just any blood either… It was the smell of a pureblood's blood. Miku shifted slightly, hesitating as to whether she should ignore it or follow it. The most important thing to discern at this point was whether that blood belonged to the person wandering around the corridors, or if it was the blood of a pureblood that the person wandering around happened to devour. _'Either way it has to be a vampire.' _Miku deducted.

"_**There are more members of your kin just over there, will you take their lives as sacrifices?" **_

'_No… Not now,'_ Miku shook her head furiously, hoping that it would get rid of the sudden relapse.

"_**The hunger that accumulated for thousands and thousands of years must be about to slam into you soon… I can't even wrap my mind around how harsh that must be… HAHAHA…" Uncle R—do cackled evilly as he laid on the floor, arms spread out, with parts of his neck and chest gouged out. The young Miku stared in fright at the ancient vampire and looked back towards her uncle. So many questions ran through her mind. 'Why did uncle do this? Why did he hurt her brother? Who was that vampire with the rotting flesh?' **_

_**Suddenly the giant doors creaked, the sound too obvious and unavoidable to allow Miku to remain hidden. 'AHHHHH… THE DOOR!' Miku had accidentally pushed the door open further, making it creak violently. **_

"_**Oh, Miku, how pleasant of you to join us… Why don't you be useful for once and become food for this vampire right here? Oh you don't know him do you? He's your ancestor. The former 'Kaname Kuran'." Uncle R—do's face still had a sinister grin on it. Suddenly the ancient vampire standing over him ran its arm through his stomach, silencing her uncle. The vampire slowly turned its head toward her, sending waves of his scent towards her sensitive nose. The smell made her want to vomit. **_

'_No…the blood I'm smelling… It's only wafting through the corridors… It must be coming from a nearby room.' _Miku gripped a nearby bookcase, attempting to steady herself. She knew it wouldn't be smart to rush towards the smell of the blood, but her thirst was overpowering her rationality. Generally between purebloods that weren't lovers, relationships were more volatile than friendly. It was natural for a pureblood to feel aggressively territorial and to desire dominance over another pureblood, because that meant _power_.

Miku slowly walked toward the direction of the scent of blood, her thirst becoming stronger as the smell became more and more overwhelming. Then she heard a familiar voice from afar.

"_**Brother…"**_ It was another relapse.

_**The young Miku was startled, as she had not sensed her parents' presence at all. Her father walked up beside her, and then soon passed her, walking slowly in a straight line towards the blood soaked coffin. He gave a slight glance towards Uncle R—do, then bent down over the coffin and picked up a torn cloth, sullied with blood. Regret, pain, sadness, and loss emanated from her father as he gripped the cloth to his face. However, he did not let out a tear. Miku soon realized that her brother… was no more. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder, as if they had made a solemn promise to silence, Miku and her mother bowed their heads for a moment, and then looked back toward her father. He was kneeling down near Uncle R—do's body, reaching for something. A baby. He held the baby to himself as if accepting it as his own.**_

"_**Daddy… That's not… That's not my baby brother is it?" Miku began to tear up.**_

"_**Miku… Say hello… to Kaname. Kaname Kuran. He may not exactly be your brother… but he's still family." Her father carried the baby over to Miku and her mother. Her mother gripped onto the shawl wrapped around her.**_

"_**Y-You're… Y-You're… Y-YOU'RE LYING DADDY!" Miku backed up, sudden fear overwhelmed her… The baby's scent was that of the ancient vampire who had badly injured her uncle. The ancient vampire that was right… "…There…"**_

_**Miku's tears could no longer be held back, "That other vampire was just right there… He transformed into… T-that… That isn't my brother, that isn't my family… T-that… That THING." Miku ran behind her mother, gripping onto her mother's dress. She felt as if she was choking and her tongue was all jumbled up. "It's… It's that vampire… That… That ancient vampire… Uncle… Uncle R—do called that thing the 'former Kaname Kuran'… Uncle… He… H-He killed my baby brother and fed it to that thing!" **_

"_**Miku…" Her father's eyes softened, "I know this is hard to accept… but at this moment, I have decided that we're going to take care of this baby as if it was **__our__** Kaname. Miku, I know you're a good girl… You'll be a good older sister." **_

"…Older sister huh? Look how good I turned out to be… haha," Miku's nails dug into her palms. She continued to struggle forward, to move closer towards the scent of the blood. The hallway seemed endless as her vision began to blur. '_So thirsty…_'. Just as she walked toward where the source of the scent of blood was coming from, she heard two muffled voices speaking from behind the door.

"You do not seem to be much surprised…" It was a boy's voice.

"No…" And a slightly older female. "I was planning to make Yuki Cross an assassin."

"I see… That is the correct decision…" The male voice replied. Suddenly the scent of blood was stronger. "Do you feel it…? I am holding your heart. If… I take it out right now…, can you imagine what will happen? Right now, you do not have the healing power due to Zero's gunshots. Even though you are a pure-blood being, you may cease to exist…"

"What a dirty trick… You presumed this would happen and were waiting for the opportunity weren't you?" The female was angered not only by the male's condescending tone, but by his sly ploy.

"Yes." He answered, a slight smile evident in his voice, "It is foolish to try to outwit an unhurt pureblood… Because if purebloods are equal, then a battle would just inflict harm and end up with a stalemate… But I still wanted that pure blood of yours. You needed my pure blood as well… That is why you tried to make use of Yuki, am I right?"

"That girl's only value is to make her a "piece". For now… I cannot resist any longer. Only "death" awaits the loser of this game… If you let me live, that girl will die in my place one day."

"Shizuka, _your __**life**__… I will have it…_" The male paused for a moment, "I will use all of my power to protect Yuki…"

Miku's sensitive ears could pick up the sound of flesh being pierced. She could no longer simply stand outside of the door. Miku pushed the door open only to witness the very person she had been having many relapses about, drinking the blood of the pureblood whose scent she had been following.

"It's so strange… I had never imagined that this would happen between you and me…" The pureblood vampire was now a familiar face. It was Shizuka Hio. "When I met you for the first time when you were still young… You were not like a vampire at all… However… Now…" The boy had just then ripped out Shizuka's heart, letting her fall back as he caught her with his hands.

"I will not waste your life…That thing that you really abhorred. I will surely destroy it… The one… Who ruined the destiny of the pure bloods…" He looked down towards her as if both of them did not notice Miku at all. Miku simply stood there staring at the boy.

"A pureblood vampire who ate a pureblood…You will earn a new strength…But at the same time, you have a summoned a sinister future. Wherever you will go… There will nothing but darkness, Kaname…" Shizuka said as she uttered her last words and breathed her last breath.

"Yes, I know…" Kaname whispered.

"Kaname…" Miku called out to him, almost hesitantly.

"…Miku?" His expression broke out of its usual calm exterior for a moment as his eyes widened slightly.

"Kaname…you…" Miku felt her vision that was already blurred, black out as she suddenly lost consciousness again. In less than a heartbeat, Kaname had caught Miku before she fell, his hands still stained with Shizuka's blood.

* * *

><p>Miku let out a slight groan as she slowly opened her eyes. She was back in the bed she woke up the last time she lost consciousness, but instead of waking up to see the kind smile of Kaien, she saw two burgundy eyes glowing in the darkness as they reflected light from the full moon. "I've been fainting a lot recently." She laughed weakly.<p>

"Welcome back, Onee-chan," It was Kaname. He smiled at her in almost a mechanic way, "Have you been taking care of yourself properly?"

"K-Kaname…" His smile scared her. It was an unfamiliar smile. The kind you would give to a stranger. It was as if…As if he didn't recognize her. "…Don't call me that."

"Why not?" His smile widened. He was taunting her.

"You…" She stared at him, "You're not my…"

"_**That other vampire was just right there… He transformed into… T-that… That isn't my brother, that isn't my family… T-that… That THING." **_Her relapses reminded her of what she had called Kaname the first time she saw him.

He stared back at her, eyes cold.

"_**I know you're a good girl… You'll be a good older sister." **_Her father's words echoed in her head.

"Nevermind." She looked away, breaking the stare between them. "Kaname… How is she?"

"Yuki?" Kaname's smile seemed to turn warmer for a moment.

'So simply saying her name can make him light up like that…' She thought, with a frown forming on her face. A little green demon called "Jealousy" crawled into her thoughts. "Yeah… Yuki."

"_**Hey, Mommy, does this mean I'll be marrying my baby brother when I get older?"**_

"She's doing fine." Kaname pulled up a seat next to her bed and sat on it. Crossing his legs, he asked, "And Haru?"

"Good." She forced a smile.

"Good." He replied with another mechanical smile.

"Hey… Kaname… Do you still…" Miku felt her throat become parched.

"_**Possibly, you never know."**_

"…Do I…What?" Kaname asked unfazed.

"…Nothing."

"Miku…" Kaname's tone became serious, "If there's something you want to say, just say it."

"I…," Miku pulled the blankets over her face, muffling what she was trying to say, "I…"

"Miku," Kaname gently pulled the covers off her face.

She looked straight up at him, her red violet eyes stared into his burgundy ones, "I…"

Kaname stared back at her, his expression softened, "Welcome back. I missed you, Miku."

Miku's face flushed lightly, "I missed you, too."

"MIKU! I heard you fainted again! Do you still need more blood?" Kaien rushed into the room carrying a load of pouches of blood.

"K-Kaien…" Miku turned towards him, the sudden interruption angering her, "You know what…" Miku got out of the bed, picked her sais off of a nearby desk, and walked towards Kaien.

"M-Miku… Playing with sais are dangerous…!" Sweat rolled down Kaien's face as he slowly backed out of the room and dropped a couple pouches, "Sorry for the interruption! Have fun with Kaname!" He ran off, disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.

"That dumb vampire hunter…" Miku gripped her sais until her knuckles turned white.

"Miku did something happen?" Kaname put a hand on her shoulder, "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep." Miku picked up the pouches left on the floor and pocketed them.

"For how long?"

"It's been about two weeks now."

"Nightmares?"

"No. I just couldn't sleep."

"Have you been drinking…"

"Expired blood tablets—according to Kaien."

"Well that would explain some things."

"Yeah." It was a monotonous conversation between the two. Miku shifted slightly, touching the coldness of her sais.

"Are those vampire hunting weapons?" Kaname stared at her hands which were lightly tracing over the hilts of her sais.

"Yeah."

"Why do you have them?"

"They belonged to a deceased Vampire Hunter. One of my close friends." Miku pricked the tip of her finger with the tip of her sai, letting a droplet of blood grow on her finger.

"I didn't ask how, I asked why." Kaname stared at the blood on Miku's finger.

"They look cool."

"Why can't you be honest?"

"…I thought that if I had them, I could actually protect someone with them." Miku pricked another finger and watched the blood droplet form on her finger.

"Miku stop that."

"Why?" Miku looked up at Kaname. _'Do you still care for me?' _She directed her silent question towards him.

"You're going to attract vampires."

"Including you?" Miku pricked another finger almost nonchalantly. _'If he doesn't care then he should just kill me here.'_

"Miku those wounds won't heal if you continue on like that…" Kaname swiftly took the sai from her.

"They'll heal. It'll take about a week, but they'll heal." Miku took her sai back from Kaname just as quickly as he had taken it from her. "I'll be here for at least a couple more days. Kaien won't let me leave until the next shipment of blood tablets come."

"Miku, do you dislike me?"

"…" Miku refused to reply. _'I wish I could.'_

"I shall arrange for a room for you to stay in then." Kaname walked out of the room past her.

"Kaname…" Miku called out to Kaname.

"Yes?" He turned back to look at her.

"Kaname… Just know that," Miku noticed at a slight stain of blood on his white tie, "I'm still on your side." It was probably Shizuka's blood.

"I'm happy to know that, Miku," Kaname smiled gently.

"And you killing Shizuka Hio…" Miku tilted her head downwards so that her bangs covered her left eye completely, "If the Elders find out…"

"Don't worry, Miku, I'll manage."

"Kaname… I've known you for long enough… You've been my little brother for all this time now… and you still are…" Miku managed to muster a smile, "I know you like doing things your own way, but try to depend on your family a bit more okay?"

"Thank you."

'_Kaname, you have a tough mask to crack,'_ Miku thought, almost aggravated, _'Is Yuki the only one who can get past it now?'_

"Hey… Who are you and what is your relation to Kaname-sama?" A voice asked from behind Miku.

"Oh me? I'm no one really, just an acquaintance," Miku smiled politely, looking at the boy that had just spoken to her.

"What's your name?" The boy had wild blond hair and ice blue eyes.

"It's impolite to ask for someone's name without giving your own first." Miku's smile widened, he obviously wasn't too bright, having not realized she was a pureblood.

"Why should I have to tell you my name?" He replied with a haughty attitude.

"Hmm, you're right." She agilely took both of her sais and stabbed each of them into the wall, successfully pinning him to the wall with one sai on each side of his neck. "These are vampire hunting sais by the way." She grinned widely, showing her fangs.

"W-What the…" His eyes widened, unable to have even reacted quickly enough to dodge the sudden assault, "Isn't Kaname-sama the only vampire able to wield vampire hunting weapons?"

"Obviously not." She smirked. "Now do you want to tell me your name?"

"…H-Hanabusa Aido." He gulped, but quickly retaliated by using his vampire powers to freeze her arms to the wall and her legs to the floor, "I think you're being too overconfident. Obviously I have the upper hand now."

Miku scoffed. She then effortlessly broke out of the ice and smiled at Aido. "You're an interesting one, Aido."

"Excuse me?" He couldn't tell if she was being honest or making fun of him. He was stunned that she was so easily able to break free of his ice.

"Aido." Another vampire appeared from the darkness of the hallways and called out to Aido. He looked similar to Aido, except with hazel eyes and a slightly more burly appearance.

"Oh, Kain." Aido turned around to the vampire named 'Kain'.

"Aido… Who is this?" He stared at Miku. Miku could tell he had a rather perceptive nature and assumed he had already realized she was a pureblood, as his eyes suddenly widened, "Aido… This vampire is…"

"Oh it looks like I've been found out!" Miku's smile widened even more. This was rather amusing for her. After keeping her cover for so long, she had forgotten the automatic authority purebloods had over other vampires. She placed a finger on Kain's mouth, silencing him, "But keep it a secret okay? I don't think your friend has realized it yet. He's not very bright, but I'd like to keep my identity secret for a bit longer."

"Wait a minute! I told you my name! Tell me yours!" Aido demanded, flailing his arms.

"I'm Miku, pleased to meet you," She patted Aido on the head, regardless of the fact that she was a bit shorter than him.

Aido's face reddened in embarrassment towards Miku treating him like some pet, "Stop that!" He batted her hand away as she giggled.

"Hahaha, you're quite amusing, Aido." Miku smiled gently then turned to Kain, "Pleased to meet you too, Kain! I hope you two will treat me kindly while I am here."

"How long will you be staying?" Kain stared at her. Currently Miku didn't seem like much of a threat, but she was still a pureblood, so he couldn't be too careful. Although he was only loyal to Kaname mostly because Ruka was, he knew that two purebloods under one roof would be more than slightly chaotic. Chances were, that the noble vampire children currently staying at the Moon dorms would remain loyal to Kaname, but he wasn't so sure of how they would react to Miku.

"Only for a couple days, don't worry." She started to walk down the hallway, "I'll try not to bother anyone, I'm only here to visit some relatives anyways."

'_Relatives?'_ Kain thought as his eyes narrowed, _'How many more purebloods are there here?'_

"Aido, Kaname-sama wishes to gather the vampires up to meet at the conference room in the Moon dorm. Do you still plan on avoiding Kaname-sama or are you going to go?" Kain asked Aido.

"…My faith in Kaname-sama feels revived after speaking with Yuki Cross. I don't want to run away anymore. I want to support Kaname-sama unwaveringly." Aido spoke with certainty.

"Okay." Kain smirked.

"Hey you two… Do you mind guiding me to the conference room?" Miku smiled politely, her interest in their conversation started when she heard Aido mention 'Yuki Cross', "I have a bad sense of direction, haha."

They stared at her, obviously not wanting to take her there.

"Please?" She smiled with her fangs this time.

* * *

><p>Yeah. That's the end of this chapter. Sorry for all the angst… and… Miku being so intolerably vulnerable (it took a long time writing this, because it was difficult finding a balance between her being psychologically challenged with her relapses and her being all "emo"). Well… yeah… So I suppose the writing limit for each legit chapter will be around nine pages, haha. It's not long… but it's not short either (I have a life too, you know). More coupling will be introduced later. Sorry Haru and Natsume action wasn't in this chapter *sadface*. I didn't have the heart to put their fluff in this chapter (but I'll make a chapter 3.5 completely about them). Too much angst-y romance with Miku. *Cry* I'm not the proudest of this chapter either… but hopefully the story will make more sense later on and pick up pace a bit.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3b: Things to Cherish

. . .For the fluff missing from chapter 3. Haha. . .

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. The only thing I own is this story and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

* * *

><p>Chapter 3.5 Things to Cherish<p>

It was just another night spent in _Pastel_. Haru sighed discontentedly for about the seventeenth time that hour.

"Haru? What's wrong? You seem down." Watanuki asked as he busied himself with polishing glasses.

"My sister has been out of the house for two days now," He sighed again, "I mean… I'm already used to her leaving the house often, but usually she comes back by the end of the day…"

"Why don't you call her?" Tsujita said while smoking a cigarette.

"I don't know where she is," He rested his head, face down, on the bar counter.

"Doesn't she have a cell phone?" Tsujita asked, somewhat bewildered. Who didn't have a cell phone in this day and age? Wasn't his sister old enough to have one?

"She only has a pager, but she didn't bring it with her," Haru stood up and walked over to the piano.

"A…p-pager?" Tsujita stared at him, _'Who…still uses a pager?'_

"Don't worry, Haru, Miku is a responsible young lady. I'm sure she can take care of herself," Watanuki forced a grin.

"I know…," Haru sighed and begun to play a tune, "It's just… the house is lonely too you know…"

'_S-So…SO CUTE…'_ Tsujita and Watanuki thought as Haru began to resemble an abandoned puppy.

"Suddenly there are waves of euphoria coming off from you two…," Haru narrowed his eyes at the two fools, "Do you find my suffering that blissful?"

The door bell chimed as Natsume entered the bar.

"Hello, Natsume! You're early today," Watanuki welcomed him.

"Yeah, work ended early today, so I thought I'd come over to have a drink," Natsume smiled and ordered a margarita.

"Hey, maybe you can cheer up Haru, Natsume," Tsujita smiled slyly.

"Oh? What's wrong?" Natsume made a curious face towards Haru.

"N-N-N-Nothing…" Haru blushed, 'Damn it Miss Tsujita… What are you trying to pull?'

"He's been feeling _lonely_ ever since his sister left the house," Tsujita gave a coy smile.

"Th-That's not true!" Haru shouted defiantly.

"Aw, why don't you just be honest, Haru?" Tsujita blew out a small plume of smoke, "His sister has been out of the house for a couple days now and Haru has been feeling worried and lonely."

"Do you want me to accompany you during the day, Haru? My job starts in the evening and I have some time in between school anyways," Natsume offered kindly.

"N-N-No thanks." Haru blushed even more and moved over to the piano stool.

"Haru, you sound like you have a speech impediment with all that stuttering," Watanuki teased.

"Sh-SHUT UP!"Haru's face turned beat red.

"Why so shy, Haruuu?" Tsujita grinned, taking a swig of her drink.

"Haha, don't tease him too much, Sawako," Natsume laughed. He walked over to Haru and sat beside him on the piano stool, taking a sip of his margarita. "Natsume, if you'd like any of us to keep you company, feel free to ask. I'm sure neither of us would mind and we all don't want to see you depressed or anything."

"Thanks, Natsume," Haru smiled, "I really do have good friends here, I'd be sad if we had to leave this place." He looked at the piano's keys, soundlessly sliding his hand over them.

"We'd miss you heaps, but that doesn't mean you can't ever contact us," Watanuki grinned and then gestured to the bar, "You're welcome here anytime, Haru."

Haru felt his eyes get watery, "Oh you guys…"

"Don't cry," Natsume gave Haru a peck on the cheek.

(A/N: * snickers *)

"…" Haru fell off the stool.

"Haruuu," Natsume pouted, "Are my loving gestures still so surprising to you after all this time?"

"…" Haru blankly stared at the ceiling.

"Haruuu?" Natsume poked his sides.

"…"

"Haru…?" Natsume nudged Haru.

"Natsume, Princess Haru has fainted, why don't you give him a kiss to wake him up?" Tsujita teased.

"But his eyes are still open." Natsume pouted.

"If you do it, I bet he'll move." Watanuki joked.

Natsume gave Haru a considerate look and leaned over to give him a kiss. Before Natsume could kiss Haru, however, Haru suddenly rolled away to the side, successfully dodging the upcoming impact.

"W-W-What do you think you're d-d-doing?" Haru stuttered. He narrowed his eyes at Tsujita and Watanuki, "Stop giving Natsume funny ideas!"

"You're such a bad sport, Haru," Natsume said while still pouting. He had fallen over when Haru dodged his kiss and his forehead had hit the floor.

"H-How am I a bad sport?" Haru frowned.

Natsume, cradling his injured forehead said, "You know, my face is backed up by a lot of money."

"What are you, the prime minister?" Tsujita asked, while roaring out in laughter.

"I'm a model." Natsume pouted.

"You didn't answer my question! How am I a bad sport?" Haru yelled.

"You're not supposed to dodge my kisses. It's against the rules," Natsume pouted while holding some ice to his head that Watanuki had just handed to him.

"WHAT RULES?" Haru's face reddened in aggravation and embarrassment.

"A model? Lies! You're too short to be a model!" Tsujita cried tears of laughter.

"Okay, so I lied, I'm not a model. I'm a son of the Yakuza." Natsume made a serious face.

"Bullshit!" Watanuki called the bluff this time.

"Phooey! You guys are no fun," Natsume pouted, breaking out of his poker face, "Okay this time I'm not going to lie. I work as a host at a nearby club. You can even see my card!"

"That's even more scandalous!" Tsujita kept laughing uncontrollably. Then she noticed the look of absolute seriousness on Natsume's face. "Oh you're not joking…"

"I have school in the day time, so I need a night job. The job has to be well-paying too since I'm studying to be a pediatrician… So for now I'm working at a host club." Natsume frowned, "I admit it isn't the best job, but I like drinking too, and I have to pay for these drinks somehow."

"Aww, Natsume, you can always work here," Watanuki offered.

"No way, you're a cheapskate," Natsume replied with a deadpanned look, "I wouldn't even get half the pay that I get working as a host. Plus, I'm pretty popular with the ladies. Girls dig guys that know French—even if they don't understand a word of what I'm saying!" Natsume feigned an angelic look.

"What a little manipulative demon." Tsujita scoffed.

"Just because I have less wrinkles than you!" Natsume stuck his tongue out at Tsujita.

"AS IF! You think like an old man! Money, money, money!" Tsujita pointed and shouted at Natsume.

"You two, cool it! You're disturbing the rest of the bar!" Watanuki yelled at the two, but they ignored him and kept on arguing.

"_Kiss the Rain_," Haru interrupted, letting his piano playing end the argument for him. Instantly the whole bar was swept over with peace and quiet.

"You're such a good tranquilizer, Haru," Watanuki said appreciatively.

"Glad to know," Haru laughed lightly.

"UGH! Haru just MARRY me!" Tsujita begged, "Why are you so God damn perfect?"

"Haha, you're already married, Miss Tsujita," Haru laughed, "I'm honored…, but I'm far from perfect. _Very far_."

"Haru, I think you're absolutely wonderful," Natsume leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek—this time successfully. Haru didn't want to move around in the middle of a song, and dodging by craning his neck would only go so far, so he allowed Natsume this one kiss.

"Oh, I'm delighted you didn't reject me this time!" Natsume batted his eyelashes.

"I couldn't dodge that one since I'm still playing a song," Haru replied.

"Excuses, excuses," Tsujita and Watanuki joked.

"No really!"

"Sure, sure."Another simultaneous reply.

The night continued on like this. Haru played the piano, Natsume kept trying to make moves on Haru, and Tsujita and Watanuki teased Haru. Although it happened so often now, Haru didn't ever really get tired of it. In fact, he was thankful for these people who kept his life so vibrant. His existence as a vampire made Haru truly despise himself, but for people like the ones he met at _Pastel_, life felt just a bit easier to live. There are two sides to every coin. One side to the coin called "eternity" called for an eternity of pain, loss, regrets, and suffering. The other side to that coin is an eternity's amount of things to cherish—from the people one meets to one's memories of them.

(A/N: Oh noes, it's a moral! *gasp*)

"Hey, Haru, how about we go on a date... Say, next week? You, me, an expensive restaurant, and a little champagne?" Natsume rested his chin on Haru's shoulder as Haru continued to play the piano.

"W-What?" Haru blushed, "W-well… If Mr. Watanuki will let me have the night off… then sure I guess?"

"WHAT? He ACCEPTED?" Tsujita and Watanuki shouted, appalled.

"How about it, Tarou? Give Haru a day off, yeah?" Natsume smiled, ignoring their sudden outburst.

"As long as you promise not to make Haru cry," Watanuki said jokingly.

"I'll treat him as if he was my girlfriend," Natsume gave a gentlemanly smile.

"Enough with the girlfriend stuff! I'm a guy!" Haru cried out.

"Fine, he'll be my boyfriend," Natsume smiled and then turned towards Haru, "Better?"

"Yes! BETTER." Haru fumed, but then realized what he just said, "W-W-W-Wait! NO. NOT BETTER!"

"I didn't think you swung both ways, Natsume," Tsujita mused, while ignoring Haru's pleas for the three to forget what he just said.

"I didn't until I met Haru," Natsume gave an honest smile, "He's way too cute to not fall for. Don't you agree?"

"Agreed." Everyone in the bar replied.

"WHAT THE…" Haru's face reddened for like the umpteenth time, "You guuuuuys!"

"Sorry, Haru, you're just 'too cute'." Natsume replied for the rest of _Pastel _as well as himself.

* * *

><p>Hope you guys enjoyed the bonus mini-chapter!<p>

So just in case it might confuse someone, I will be posting a possibility of five types of chapters while trying to complete _Eternity_.

- A legit chapter (it keeps up with the flow of the story and will be titled with a whole number; roughly 9 pages).

- A mini-chapter (it somewhat keeps up with the flow of the story, but usually will have to do with Haru and Natsume; titled with a decimal in its title [ex: this chapter is "Chapter 3.5"]; around 4 to 5 pages).

- A crack-filler chapter (has little to no relation to the story flow—in fact it will be so farfetched it will have nothing to do with what's going on, and you'll have to regard it as if it never happened in the story [yes I know I could just make a separate story for this, but I'm too lazy to, haha]).

- A note from the author in case of any hiatus or whatnot(self-explanatory).

- Extra chapter (usually has character profiling info)

Beta note (ramblings) about chapter: Hahahahah for some reason this reminded me of Spain and Romano (if there is anyone that is a fan/gets this reference THIS BETA LOVES YOU! ;3 But if you hate it… I WILL KILL YOU! JKJKJK).


	5. Chapter 4: Tainted

Ni hao! Konnichiwa! Bonjour! Hola! Hallo! Dia duit! Xin chào! Hei! Hello (Filipino, yo)! 'Sup. * curtly nods, 'cause I'm cool like that *. Apologies for the long wait. . .I'm well aware that it's been waaaay over my promised time for posting chapters. . . But it couldn't be helped. Teachers stuff a lot of work into the last few weeks of school. :( School just finished by the way. . .

Back on topic—thanks to my reviewers, my beta, and my parents (for without my parents I wouldn't be here now, would I?)—not that it's really necessary to thank my parents. . .Okay so it is necessary to thank them. They bought me this computer after all. (And above all they brought me into this world for the matter—not that I really have to mention such a thing. *off topic *)

Disclaimer: Just like how I don't own this computer, I do not own Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my devious plot and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

"**Phone call" **

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Tainted<p>

"Kaien, what is your current relationship with Zero now?" Miku asked while nonchalantly spinning around in a chair in Kaien's office.

"He's my adoptive son along with Yuki," Kaien replied while doing some random paperwork.

Miku gave him a slightly concerned look before continuing on, "So earlier today—well last night really—Kaname had gathered up all the vampires from the Night class in the Moon Dorm's conference room…"

"Well, as a pureblood he has the authority to make them feel inclined to obey him—not that he often abuses that power," Kaien reconsidered his words for a moment, "I've never seen him abuse that power at least."

"Hmm, well, today he politely requested for all the vampires to protect Zero from the Vampire Council," Miku stared at Kaien, "Do you know what he'd need protection for? Humans rarely get any attention from the Council."

"Well, Zero is a vampire—not a pureblood or of aristocratic status or anything though." Kaien gave Miku a serious look.

"Oh right… Wait… he hasn't reverted to a level-E yet right?" Miku's eyes narrowed. Level-E vampires disgusted her. Even if Zero—the cute, little, rebellious kid she had met 4 years ago—became a level-E, she still would have a hard time not gagging. Level-Es' uncontrollable, insatiable desire for blood made them a disgrace to all things "vampire". They came off to her as barbaric, but truth be told, they represented what all vampires were deep down. What all vampires had in common was a deep, insatiable desire for blood.

"No, not quite," Kaien explained, "He's been drinking some of Yuki's blood, so I think that's really been helping him keep from devolving to a Level-E. Plus, his hatred of vampires must also be keeping him from reverting." Kaien noticed sudden waves of discontent overflowing from Miku.

"He's been splurging on my precious little sister's BLOOD in other words?" Miku glared at Kaien, "How could you let such a vile thing happen?"

"Y-Yuki often forces him to!" Kaien started to sweat a bit towards Miku's hostile aura.

"Ugh, she's grown up to be way too soft. Why did mother have to go and seal her vampire nature anyways? I'm sure Kaname and I could've just as easily protected her." Miku rubbed her temples, "So why does Zero need protection again?"

"The Council of Vampires have gotten word that he killed Shizuka Hio." Kaien sighed, "I really can't believe it, but Kaname has given me details about what happened…"

"Wait… Shizuka Hio?" Miku's eyes widened. That couldn't be right…

"_**A pureblood vampire who ate a pureblood…You will earn a new strength…But at the same time, you have a summoned a sinister future. Wherever you will go… There will nothing but darkness, Kaname…" Shizuka said as Miku witnessed her utter her last words and breathe her last breath.**_

She saw Kaname fatally injure Shizuka right in front of her…, "Kaien… It wasn't Zero… It couldn't be… I watched Kaname devour her right in front of me…"

"What?" Kaien's eyes widened this time, "I… expected as much… It's a bit overwhelming to factor in, but it's definitely plausible… Kaname is way too overprotective of Yuki… If Shizuka was threatening in any way towards her…"

"Yeah…," Miku felt her stomach lurch. She instantly paled as she was overwhelmed by a sudden hunger. Quickly she stood up and raced over to her coat which hung on a nearby coat rack. Grabbing the case of expired blood tablets from its pockets, she frantically tried to open the case. Kaien watched silently as she poured out a handful of tablets and stuffed them into her mouth, crushing them with her fangs and swallowing them without water. "This is getting pretty bad." She said, breathing heavily as she tried to get her heart rate down.

"Miku…" Kaien said, his eyes filled with worry, "… I know you don't despise your two siblings—or at least I'd like to hope you don't… But… I've noticed… That the closer you try to get to Kaname and Yuki, the more ill you become… Is something bothering you? Anything you'd like to talk about?"

Miku's expression suddenly became dark. Without replying, she left the room, feeling her stomach lurch again.

No, she didn't hate her siblings. Not at all. But her relationship with them was very convoluted and difficult to put into words. At times she felt jealous of Yuki, of Kaname's devotion to her. However Miku was appalled by her own jealousy. When Yuki was born she had crept in between the relationship she had taken so long to develop with Kaname, but when _Uncle R—do_ wanted to steal Yuki away, everything had changed. The relationship that was slowly decimated between her and Kaname by Yuki had disappeared almost altogether. Upon their parents' death, Miku and Kaname decided to separate in order to protect Haru and Yuki, however as to why they'd do such a thing never made complete sense. But for Miku there were two motives—to separate her brother from Yuki whose powers were sealed while his weren't and to distance herself from Kaname as much as possible. Miku's mindset was separated by two notions: how moral it really was to be in love with her brother—or rather the person who killed her brother—and if it was right to step in between the bond formed between Kaname and Yuki. But what Miku always tried to prioritize in her mind was family, and every other minute detail didn't _really _matter. Thus, she pushed her un-sisterly affections for Kaname to a deep, dark corner of her mind and dedicated herself to protecting her brother. However at times, she wondered if she was just using "protecting her brother" as an excuse to get away from Kaname.

(A/N: Super intricate psychological twist. *brain numbs*)

* * *

><p>"<strong>Well I think you're being absolutely ridiculous. I mean why do you have to hold back your love for your brother?"<strong> A voice with a slight Russian-accented English inquired over the slightly scratchy tone of the phone.

"You don't understand, Natalya. It's BECAUSE he's my brother that it wouldn't even been appropriate to harbor such vile feelings for him." Miku consecutively bumped her head against a wall while conversing with her friend over the phone.

"**Vile? How vile can love be? I think you're just being way too overdramatic. He's not even technically your brother anyways."** Natalya tried to reason with the stubborn Miku.

"A vampire's love often crosses many levels of vile, Natalya." Miku stated bitterly.

"**That doesn't mean your love would. Look Miku, I admire you. I admire you very much. You're resourceful, caring, amusing, cunning, and above all that…Cold as steel. In the professional way of course."** Natalya paused for a breath, **"But you worry excessively, you're overly pessimistic—more than I am—and sometimes you can be a total bitch."**

"Thank you for the commentary, Natalya… That was just what I needed," Miku rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. "Sorry, I probably AM being a total bitch about this…"

"**Actually, no you're not. I just said that to rile you."** Natalya teased with a wide smile.

"Bitch."

"**Slut."**

"Whore!"

"**FISH MONGER!"**

"GASP…You…YOU ADOLESCENT GEEK!"

"**Oh no you DIDN'T."**

"BUT I JUST DID."

And then the two paused and suddenly pealed into random laughter.

"…Thanks Natalya, I needed that." Miku shook her head softly still laughing lightly. If she ever needed a friend to pour all her problems out to, it'd be Natalya, her psychopathic best buddy who had connections to all sorts of underground organizations.

"**Anytime."**

"You seem to be having fun." A voice spoke from behind Miku.

"AH!" She jumped, as she placed the cordless phone back onto its base, "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's bad to eavesdrop?" Miku glared at the person who had crept up behind her.

"Even if she did, she didn't tell me not to," the person smirked.

(A/N: Sorry if it gets too OOC.)

"I thought you don't normally willingly associate yourself with vampires, Zero," Miku smiled coyly, "Or have you developed a fondness for me… So much so that you couldn't wait to see me once you heard news of my visit?"

"I still hate vampires as much as ever, but at least I respect you. A little. Not even a little…more like a tiny bit—a microscopic amount. Besides…You're admirable and, like me, you're a vampire that kills vampires." Zero avoided Miku's gaze while attempting to say something complimenting.

"I wouldn't call Level-Es vampires…They're more like vile beasts of burden that have lost their leash have nowhere to go, no one to feed them, and no one to look over them. Simply they've regressed until they were forced to depend purely on their survival instincts." Miku said bitterly.

"And this is why I have a microscopic amount of respect for you." Zero mouth twitched into a slight smile, "You always manage to take the words right out of my mouth. In a good way."

"Why thank you, Zero," Miku snickered, "I suppose I should've recorded that all, because a compliment from the great Zero Kiryu would have definitely been phenomenal."

"The sarcasm wasn't needed." Zero glared.

"I thought it was quite tasteful done actually." Miku rolled her eyes, "Anyways, what are you doing here you stalker?"

"I-I didn't stalk you!" Making Zero flustered was definitely a fun pastime for Miku. Zero was still was a kid at heart. Although he was cold on the outside he wasn't really all that cold-hearted and she hoped he would stay that way. "Ijustwantedtovisityou…"

"What was that?" Miku cupped her hand around her ear, "Speak up child, I'm getting old, so my hearing isn't what it used to be."

"IJUSTWANTEDTOVISITYOU." Zero shouted, his face reddening by the minute.

"You wanted to what?" Miku teased, "Visit me? ME? Why, child, you HAVE gotten fond of me haven't you? You're so cute, Zero."

"Sh-shut up." Zero crossed his arms, "What are you doing here anyways? I thought you said you didn't plan on coming back for another 10 years." The last time Miku had visited was when he 12 and had only been living with Yuki and Kaien for a few months. He was 16 now. From what he could recall, they hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot… Zero being a near adolescent boy whose nature was only passive aggressive at that point and Miku being her control-loving, know-it-all, is-holier-than-thou self. But somehow they had reached common grounds and almost developed a sort of retracted sibling-like bond. To them there were two common goals that stood out most obvious to them: protect Yuki and kill level-Es.

"That was the plan, but a journey to eliminate my insomnia and a handful of expired blood tablets led me to come here." Miku grinned, "It was fated for us to meet—in other words."

"I refuse to let you trick me into becoming your boy toy again." Zero glared, "It was bad enough that I didn't know what 'fiancé' meant back then, but for you to actually pass me off as your boy toy was absolutely despicable."

"What can I say? I'm quite a despicable person." Miku smiled coyly. "In more ways than you know."

Zero's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean by that—?"

"Zeroooo? Where are you? It's time for our Disciplinary Committee duties!" A voice chimed, echoing down the hallway.

"Is that…?" Miku's sensitive ears twitched slightly. She was absolutely sure it was…

"Yuki," Zero muttered, "Yeah, I'm in here."

Yuki quietly stepped into the room, realizing someone else besides Zero was there. She stared at Miku for a moment, a feeling of familiarity overcoming her, but she couldn't put her finger on who exactly was the other person in the room.

"H-Hello," Yuki greeted softly, realizing she might have interrupted an important conversation, "I've never seen you around here before. I'm Yuki Cross. Who are you, might I ask?"

"I'm…Miku." Miku smiled back gently, while hesitating as to how she should introduce herself. With Yuki's vampire nature having been sealed, Kaname had kept all information about Miku and Haru a secret from her. "Pleased to meet you, Yuki."

Yuki gave a slight bow, "Sorry, did I interrupt anything?"

"No, nothing important," Miku continued to smile. Neither Zero nor Yuki herself was aware of Miku's ties to Yuki, and she intended on keeping it that way—at least for now. Miku picked up a peculiar stench on Zero that she had not realized was there until Yuki had entered the room, "Zero… I'd like to discuss something with you… In private—if you don't mind, Yuki?"

"Oh, sure." Yuki blinked curiously as she walked out of the room.

Zero turned towards Miku with a brow raised, wondering what Miku looked so suddenly serious about.

"Zero…," Miku started in a low tone, "Do you remember what I told you the first time I came to visit you and the Cross family?"

"Uh… Be a good kid and don't cause too much trouble for the Crosses?" Zero combed through his hair with his fingers.

"No… The other thing...," Miku said deadpanned and decided to try to give him a hint, "I went to…"

"Visit your sister!" Zero finished, "Right, Yuki is your sister."

"But Yuki doesn't know I'm her sister." Miku stared at him, one eye slightly narrowed.

"I didn't tell her…" He replied.

"Ah, yes, but there's one thing in particular… One very important thing that happened recently. You see… I hadn't noticed it while talking to you prior, but once Yuki entered the room, the familiar scent lingering on you reminded me of something quite appalling that I heard from Kaien earlier." Miku gave off waves of discontent.

"Scent? You don't mean…" Zero backed up slightly at Miku's now murderous aura.

"You wouldn't have dared to feed on my sister's blood. _Of course not_. You're a good kid. You're well aware of what I'd do to you if you did…" Miku now gave off a bloodthirsty smile.

"I might tasted a little…But she was completely willing to…No she FORCED me to…Oh god, Miku spare me the bloodshed. I promise I'll take absolutely good care of her!" Zero backed up into a corner of the room.

"Zero, repeat after me." Miku held up her right hand, "I, Zero Kiryu, solemnly swear never to let harm come in Yuki's way. If I fail to protect her, I will commit immediate seppuku and have my body enshrouded with rainbow unicorn dolls and my face to powdered like a wad of mochi."

"W-Wait what? Why do I have to solemnly swear to something so ridiculous?" Zero grimaced.

"You've TAINTED my adorable little sister! You have to take responsibility!" Miku shouted while pointing defiantly at Zero in a very 'Objection!'-like manner.

"AND I WILL! I'll… protect her with my life—until my last breath!" Zero yelled back, then immediately blushed once he realized what he said.

"Ohhh? A vow? I'll be holding your word for that. If you break that vow, I'll personally stuff you with rainbow unicorns and eliminate any male dignity you have left." Miku grinned while holding up her sais which had happened to materialize out of nowhere.

Zero gulped and nodded repeatedly without another verbal reply.

* * *

><p>Moments later, Miku had waved Zero and Yuki good-bye as they went to take care of their disciplinary duties. Miku felt at peace to know her sister was faring pretty well while living with Kaien and Zero. Kaname also seemed to be doing well, but as always, his smile seemed to be hiding something. Miku sighed and thought, 'I wonder how life would've been if we hadn't split apart?' She glanced out the window and noticed a very unpleasant site. Zero and Yuki were surrounded by what seemed to be vampire lackeys from the Vampire Council.<p>

She pressed her forehead against the glass staring intently at the scene going on. Right as she was about to slide the window open to jump out, she noticed vampires from the Night Class creeping out of the shade of the trees. Kaname also stepped out amongst the vampires, his mouth wording threats that matched the seriousness of his expression. The lackeys bowed in his presence. He then raised his hand and ruthlessly disintegrated one of the lackey's arms. The lackeys fled the area in obvious discontent as Kaname gently placed his hand on Yuki's cheek, likely asking if she was alright.

Miku turned away from the window, her conscience screaming at her to be more concerned about Yuki's wellbeing rather than her creeping jealousy of Yuki. She decided that since Kaname seemed to be taking adequate care of her that she would be able to retire for the day, worry free (of Yuki's wellbeing). Miku curled onto a nearby couch in an attempt to make herself fall asleep. It was no use though, she had probably already slept more than enough recently—considering she's fallen unconscious so often these couple of days. It didn't take Miku a lot of thinking to realize how tainted her feelings had become. She had long since given up on trying to convince herself that her affections for Kaname weren't yet a lost cause. Was it worth pursuing love if people around her would get hurt? If her sister would get hurt? Miku learned of Yuki's affection and admiration for Kaname the time she had visited the Cross family four years ago. She knew what childhood loves felt like and had no intention of spoiling things for her little sister.

(A/N: Miku keeps little contact with them, so the things she's known is what she makes assumptions from… Of course we all know Yuki is quite fond of Zero at this point, but Miku doesn't know that. Jealousy is a horrible thing nonetheless.)

"I'm jealous of people who can protect the ones they love without holding back." Miku spoke aloud to herself.

"What would be holding you back?" A voice inquired from the other side of the door.

"I've been receiving a lot of eavesdroppers recently. So what brings you here, Kaname?" Miku glanced at Kaname as he quietly entered the room. She remained curled up on the couch in fetal position and began to stare at Kaname's shoes which she realized also had a tiny stain of blood. His tie was now clean though. "You missed a spot on your shoes by the way."

"Eavesdroppers? What are you talking about? I simply came here to see how you were doing. You did faint not too long ago after all." Kaname gave a polite, reserved smile and sat down next to her on the couch, his legs crossed. As he bent over slightly to wipe the stain off his shoes, Miku tugged at his sleeve.

"Kaname, I love you." Miku said monotonously, now simply staring at the floor. It's not that she said it without thinking, but she wanted to know his reaction.

"I love you too, my dear sister." Kaname replied in a similarly emotionless tone. She half closed her eyes, disappointed at his reaction. It wasn't as if she expected much more… but it still wasn't a sufficient response.

"Hey, is there a piano around here?" Miku's eyes were now nearly completely closed.

"I believe so. Why?" Kaname asked curiously.

"I want to play something for you."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you afterwards."

* * *

><p>After passing through nearly half the academy, they had finally gotten to the only room with a piano. Miku sat down on the stool, swiping off some dust from the keys. Her fingers glided across the piano keys effortlessly. Although she gave off an air of professional playing, she was only playing a simple song. It was a melancholy melody, one that could make a heart ache.<p>

"Beautiful. What piece is that?" Kaname applauded lightly.

"It's called _Tears of a Polestar_." Miku's smile showed both sorrow and fondness. "A dear friend taught me how to play this before he died. Playing it sort of acts as a tranquilizer for me—of course, I'm not nearly as good as Haru."

"I see… Speaking of which, how is Haru doing?" Kaname looked at Miku as her hands began to silently glide across the piano keys.

"He's doing fine… I hope he isn't too worried about me being gone for this long though. He's grown up to be a really sweet kid. A bit like Yuki, but in a boyish way." Miku smiled fondly.

"Well they are twins—to share a couple similar traits wouldn't be too odd." Kaname chuckled lightly.

"But Yuki became a little too soft-hearted in my opinion. To think she made Zero drink her blood." Miku grumbled.

"Ah." Kaname's smiling poker face faltered for a moment.

"Ah?" Miku looked up towards him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really. It just doesn't please me all too much to know that Kiryu drank her blood. He doesn't deserve it." Kaname glared off into the distance.

"You're quite the overprotective brother aren't you?" Miku laughed in order to cover up her sudden urge to break something.

"Couldn't the same be said for you? After all, you even bothered to come all the way here." Kaname gave another polite smile.

"Perhaps… but initially I came here on a whim, so I suppose it wasn't entirely because of my big sister duties." Miku began to absentmindedly press random keys on the piano.

"But you ended up checking on how we were doing, so doesn't that justify you being a good sister?" Kaname folded his arms.

Miku paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond. "I… I've encountered many predispositions during my stay here that I believe deter me from being the ideal 'overprotective sister'."

"How so?"

'Well for one thing, I love you more than I'd like to acknowledge…' Miku thought as she gave Kaname a wry look and said, "At times I don't quite put my heart into being your older sister—for reasons that'll remain unmentioned."

"Well I think you're a wonderful older sister." Kaname gave a warm smile, "Despite what you may think."

Miku felt her heart flutter for a moment, but she didn't lose her composure. "I'm glad you think that, Kaname." Miku looked outside and noticed that the moon was dyed a peculiar shade of red. "It's getting late, I should go now."

"What's the rush? You haven't told me why you wanted to play that song for me, and plus, the night is still young." Kaname soundlessly moved behind Miku as she was about to open the door. Her body stiffened as he leaned closely toward her neck. She could feel his breath brush against her skin. This was quite a dangerous predicament. Perhaps Kaname hadn't quite satisfied his thirst with Shizuka?

* * *

><p>Yay, cliffhanger. (;<p>

Oh. Excuse me for the foul language throughout this chapter (and any in the future). . .I modeled Natalya after my beta and that was typically how some of our conversations go in real life.

I'll try to release chapters according to my initial rates, but I have summer school to focus on … So… Haha… Yeah… I already have the next chapter pre-written though! The editing isn't quite there yet, but if someone can answer this question (via review ;3), I'll post it the next day!

Question: From what game (hint: the game is part of a series of otome games [so you have to mention which game of that series and not just the series name]) does the song mentioned in this chapter come from and who plays it?


	6. Extra Chapter: Character Profiles

I'm not sure if profile information is really necessary, but I suppose it'd be nice to get some basic info on my OCs, as well as some of the age comparisons. I don't even want to go into the mathematics of vampire aging… So please bear with me. Haha…

Just know that in this story the aging for the appearance of vampires slows down tremendously when they reach late teens. Sorry if that's confusing. Also, I'm ignoring the new astrological sign and the changes it made. ; v ; I did put a lot of thought into assigning the astrological signs though (you guys probably think it's unnecessary haha . . .but it'd be cool if you looked them up?).

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. The only thing I own is this story and my OCs.

* * *

><p>Extra Chapter: Character Profiles<p>

**Miku Kuran**

Gender: Female

Age: Appearance of a 19 year-old; really is 24; approximately 7 years older than Kaname and 9 years older than Haru.

Hair: Dark brown; usually pinned up in a bun

Eyes: Red Violet

Height: 170 cm

Birthday: October 25th

Astrological Sign: Scorpio

Likes: painting, hydrangeas, rain, hairpins, old books, liquor, playing the piano

Dislikes: surprises, coffins, level-E vampires, pitch black places, being weak, pesky things (especially pesky people)

Special Fact: Selectively sadistic.

**Haru Kuran**

Gender: Male

Age: Appearance of a 17 year-old (but is actually currently 15)—weird how he looks older than he is, huh?

Hair: Dark brown with blond highlights on the fringe

Eyes: Burgundy

Height: 177 cm

Birthday: March 21st

Astrological Sign: Aries

Likes: Playing the piano, vests, cats, money, (Natsume)

Dislikes: Kaname, dogs, blood tablets, hot weather

Special Fact: Slightly tsundere.

* * *

><p>This info might not be exactly correct, but I tried to research as much info as possible on them, so bear with. I included these since I ended up doing them for fun . . . and well I suppose it'd explain a of couple things. . .as well as spoil other stuff. (: These are just tidbits to shine some light on the background behind my characters as well as the ones that belong to Matsuri Hino.<p>

**Kaname Kuran**

Gender: Male

Age: Appearance of an 18 year old; is actually more than 10,000 years old

Height: 184 cm

Birthday: ?; (Given birthday by Miku: January 10th)

Astrological Sign: (for given birthday) Capricorn

Likes: Yuki (good luck, Miku)

Dislikes: Rido, people that try to harm Yuki, Zero (because he's the closest person to Yuki that could steal her away from him)

**Yuki Kuran**

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Height: 152 cm

Birthday: March 20th (5 hours before Haru)

Astrological Sign: Pisces

Likes: Zero, Kaname, justice, parfaits, ginger stir fry set (? Got this from Wikia…)

Dislikes: Fighting (she's such a pacifist), being weak

**Zero Kiryu**

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Height: 181 cm

Birthday: April 1st

Astrological Sign: Aries

Likes: horses, animals in general, killing vampires, Miku (the only pureblood vampire he sort of likes—but mostly just admires)

Dislikes: vampires, wannabe vampires, vampires, relatives of vampires, vampires, pureblood vampires, vampires, Kaname Kuran (Yeah, he's in a category all by himself)

* * *

><p>(Yes, this was totally all a filler. Sorry if I got anyone's hopes up. Next chapter will be up probably by the weekends—unless someone answers the question from chapter 4!)<p> 


	7. Chapter 5: Regrets

It was quite saucy where we left off, no? The writer within me forces me to write excessively about each new idea I get, so sometimes this story might seem to have more character development than plot development (and I sincerely hope you readers don't mind it). I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless!

Review Replies:

**Step824: **Thanks for the review! (: Actually you're the first person to actually include in your review your dislike of the Shounen Ai. To be honest, I actually don't like it too much myself, but I was trying to work with a larger range in audiences—don't worry though, the main focus will be on Miku and Kaname! (: I have a lot of planned plot twists. . .so you'll probably end up forgetting that Haru and Natsume are a gay couple! Ahahahahah. . .imagine them as a girl and guy (respectively) for now—if it repulses you that much.

**CLayDOH:** *clears throat*. . .I can't help but agree with that last comment—even if it was a joke. (heart)

**Wolf and Leopard:** I'm glad I've got another reader hooked! :D Please stay with me until the end (heart). By the way, I never really ruled out searching up the answer to the question. In fact, it's cool that you did (shows how much you wanted this chapter~). I actually googled it myself to see if the answer popped up and well it's a tad difficult to find it. You'd have to actually play the games then search up the song to find it. But the full answer—in case you were wondering—is that it appears in the otome game Starry Sky ~In Winter~ and is played by Hayato Aozora. (heart)

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my plot and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Regrets<p>

Miku heaved a sigh. She wasn't quite sure that what had just happened was a good or bad thing. Just thinking about it made her heart throb. She was back in the room she woke up from when she had fallen unconscious earlier.

_**As Kaname took a few seconds to continue breathing down her neck, Miku had realized he was simply toying with her. However she couldn't quite tell if he realized her feelings for him. It didn't seem like it. If anything he might just be trying to make her freeze in fright to reiterate the fact that he didn't want anyone knowing that he had devoured Shizuka. Toying or not, she still felt stiff as a board. Finally ending her torture, he whispered into her ear, "I didn't intend on anymore blood-spilling—if that's what you were thinking. Good night, dear sister," as he sauntered off into the darkness of the hallway.**_

Miku looked at the eerily red moon that was surrounded by wispy clouds from the window. She glanced down at her sais which were reflecting some of the moon's light. The sais' passive glow shared a tint similar to that of redness of the moon and reminded her of blood, despite it looking far from it.

"Hey Kaito… Do you think our relationship would be different if you were still alive?" Miku spoke softly to herself as her grip on the sais tightened slightly. The coldness of the metal put her at ease, but on a night like this she couldn't help but remember the person who gave them to her.

"_**Nice to meet you, Miku! My name is Kaito **_Khrushchev_**-Iwamoto. I hope this will be a successful partnership!"**_ Miku felt her vision blur with tears as a series of flashbacks began to roll through her mind. Miku mentally scolded herself for being so teary all of a sudden, but it didn't halt the moisture forming in her eyes.

Despite it being a little over four years since she had met Kaito, she could still remember every single one of her memories of him, and each were crystal clear. Miku's tears now streamed freely down her face.

"_**You're really quite an interesting vampire, Miku. I never thought there'd be a pureblood that would actually work for the Vampire Hunters' Association." Kaito spoke nonchalantly while walking backwards besides Miku. **_

"_**Don't underestimate me, **_Khrushchev_**. For now you're only my temporary partner, so let's just say you know nothing about me." Miku glared at the boy. He was likely around her age, had an aloof, playful nature, and apparently (according to her superior) was an excellent vampire hunter for his age. She wasn't convinced at all though. He just looked like he was playing games and not even trying to do his job.**_

"_**Well, at least I know I'm lucky to have such a skilled partner! I won't have to worry about dying this way!" He grinned, "Another plus is that you're pretty cute, too."**_

_**Miku blushed, "H-Hey! Focus! We're on a mission."**_

Despite initially being annoyed by him at first, Miku steadily grew closer to Kaito. Their temporary partnership became permanent and as a result of being on so many missions together, constantly protecting each other's back, they had become the best of friends.

"_**Miku! Watch out!" Kaito yelled towards Miku who was already surrounded by three level-Es as one more crept down from a building, aiming to rip her head off. He agilely spin around her with his sais poised outwardly and consecutively sliced the three level-Es around her in halves as she crystallized blood from one of her wounds into a blade to behead the fourth vampire. **_

"_**Thanks." Miku grinned, her hair matted and clothes soaked with blood.**_

"_**I'd probably accept those thanks more sincerely if you didn't look like the Grudge." Kaito snickered.**_

Miku absentmindedly reached for the pin in her hair as the tears on her face continued to flow down in small rivulets. Now that she thought about it, many of her most valuable possessions reminded her of Kaito.

"_**Damn it, that level-E snapped my pin in half…" Miku looked dejectedly at the broken butterfly hair pin in her hands. She had really liked that pin too. Not only was it pretty, but it was Kaname's first gift for her. Her shoulders convulsed as she tried to choke back a sniffle. **_

"_**Hey… Miku…" Kaito gave her a concerned look, knowing that the hairpin was really valuable to her since she always used it. Kaito thought for a moment and grinned as an idea came to his head. He lightly tapped her should and told her to stay put as he ran off around the corner of the street to a nearby jewelry vendor. Less than five minutes later, he ran back and tapped Miku's shoulder as she wept about the broken pin while covering her face. "I know it's not as fancy as the hairpin your brother gave you, but at least you can use this until you get that one fixed! It's not really expensive or anything either… so you can toss if after if you want…" Kaito looked away nervously while handing her the pin. **_

_**Miku looked up towards him with her tear stained face and smiled vibrantly, "Thanks, Kaito! I love it!" She looked at the pin fondly. It had a simply design that was both elegant, yet not gaudy at all. It was a monochrome flower. She quickly used it to pin her hair up in a bun and then went to hug Kaito, "It's pretty right?"**_

"_**Y-Y-Yeah really pretty…," Kaito stared at Miku while blushing. Rather than calling the pin pretty, the compliment was aimed more towards the girl currently cutting off the circulation in his arm as they walked back to headquarters. **_

Long after she had gotten the butterfly hairpin fixed, she still continued to wear the one Kaito had given her. Miku sighed deeply as she laid on her bed. She had finally managed to stop crying, but she was sure that her dreams tonight would only be nightmares.

_**It was a rare, peaceful night for Miku and Kaito. For once they didn't have a job to do and had decided to spend Christmas Eve together. The snow was light and melted before it reached the ground, but it was still quite cold. Miku walked into the den of the cabin they were currently staying at with two mugs of hot chocolate. "Here, Kaito, careful it's still hot."**_

_**Kaito gave a nervous glance towards Miku and distractedly drank the hot chocolate without heeding Miku's warning about it being hot. He yelped as the liquid scalded his tongue.**_

"_**Gosh, Kaito! You klutz!" Miku ran into the kitchen to get him a cube of ice to cool his tongue. "I even just told you it was still hot!" Miku sighed exasperatedly, but still ended up giggling a bit at him.**_

"_**Sh-shut up! I was thinking about something!" Kaito blushed and gripped the blanket that he was wrapped up in. **_

"_**You THINK?" Miku asked sarcastically.**_

"_**Y-Yes I think!" Kaito glared.**_

"_**You think that you think?" Miku continued to tease him.**_

"_**Oh shut up you troll." Kaito now hid his face with the blanket.**_

"_**Make me."**_

"_**Why youuu…!" Kaito tackled Miku. They ended up romping around the cabin floor for ten minutes like little kids and laughed at themselves for it afterwards.**_

"_**Oh! Your gift!" Miku got up and ran upstairs and then back down while carrying a small box with her. She enthusiastically shoved the box into his arms, blushed while giggling like an idiot, and then curled up in another blanket besides him in front of the furnace fire. **_

_**Kaito looked at the box uncertainly for a moment and asked, "It is life threatening?"**_

"_**NO!" Miku jabbed him in the ribs, pouting at his insult.**_

"_**Owww. You didn't have to hit me!" Kaito whined as a small tear formed in his right eye from the pain. He carefully unwrapped Miku's present and opened the box. It was a silver pocket watch with an ivory chain and an engraving on the inside cover. "To Kaito: Hoping that we, along with this watch, will see many more Christmases to come. Love, Miku." Kaito blushed, as it seemed like Miku was the one proposing instead of himself. **_

"_**You always seem to lose track of time… so I thought a watch would be useful to you…" Miku smiled sheepishly. **_

"_**It's wonderful, Miku. I hope we end up spending many more Christmases together, too." Kaito hugged Miku. "I…I have a gift too!" He reached into his coat pocket and presented her with a small, dark blue velvet box.**_

"_**Wait… that couldn't be a…" Miku stared intently at the box.**_

"_**I don't want to only spend Christmases with you though; I'd like to spend a lifetime… Miku… we've known each other for 3 years now… and I know this is only a little time compared to how much you're going to end up living… But for me, it was enough time to realize two things: that I cherish each and every moment I've shared with you and that I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you."**_ _**Kaito's gentle voice chimed in her ears. Despite him having only spoken in a murmur, the emotion that resounded from his voice was too powerful to be put into words. He slowly opened the box to reveal a simple, but elegant ring that had a silver band and was adorned with a small princess cut sapphire surrounded by two similarly cut pieces of clear quartz on each side of it.**_

"_**I… don't know what to say… I mean I'm… a vampire… a pureblood… what if I turn on you or something." It wasn't petty doubts like these that were hindering Miku's ability to accept Kaito's proposal though… It was her lingering affections for Kaname that made her doubt her ability to be completely dedicated to Kaito. **_

"_**I'm quite sure my love for you would easily conquer those doubts," Kaito laughed lightly, "I don't wish to put you on the spot—though it might be a little too late to say that now—you can take your time to reply. To be honest, I'm a little scared of how you're going to reply, too. My heart is thumping so loudly in my ears that I can barely hear half of what I'm saying…!"**_

_**Miku smiled weakly, "I think I'm going to go sleep now, Kaito…" She began to ascend the stairs and Kaito followed, only to abruptly grab her hand and lean over to give her a peck on the cheek, "Mistletoe." He pointed upwards at the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling at the foot of the stairs.**_

"_**Good night!" Kaito chimed as he climbed up the stairs, past a stunned Miku. **_

"_**Sweet dreams…" Miku whispered while blinking, dumbfounded.**_

If only she at least gave him a reply back then… Now… Now she would only be left with regrets. Miku rolled around in her sleep, her nightmare accelerating to the peak of disaster. It was a dark memory that she would constantly relive through her dreams. A dark memory which forever fueled her hatred for level-Es.

"_**MIKU! TO YOUR LEFT!" Kaito shouted as he narrowly dodged a level-E that was about to gouge out his neck. He sliced through several level-Es at a time with his sais, but somehow the amount seemed to never end!**_

"_**Got it." Miku pelted multiple vampires with mini daggers of her crystallized blood, turning them into Swiss cheese. "Kaito! Above you!"**_

_**Kaito sprung to the side as a couple vampires corkscrew dived right at him from above. More level-Es seemed to go after Kaito since they didn't feel the pureblood vampire pressure from him which exuded off Miku. "God damn! These things are like tics and flees!"**_

"_**Kaito less talking!" Miku formed a giant spear of blood this time, but didn't realize she drew too much blood. As she attempted to skewer several more vampires, her vision blurred from loss of blood and her knees buckled. The level-Es quickly noticed the opening in her defenses and went after her all at once.**_

"_**Oh no you don't!" Kaito jumped in front of them and began to slice at them, taking down a couple vampires with each swing of his arms. **_

"_**S-Sorry, Kaito," Miku struggled to stand straight to skewer vampires. "I didn't realized I used too much blood."**_

"_**Drink my blood, Miku." Kaito gave her a stern look, while still hashing away at level-Es.**_

"_**N-NO! I refuse!" Miku collapsed to her knees again.**_

"_**Look! You can barely stand! Just drink my blood, I'll live. It's not like I'll turn into a vampire! That requires an exchange of blood doesn't it?" Kaito narrowly dodged another vampire's attack.**_

"_**But these vampires aren't letting up! You could get hurt while I'm drawing blood!" Miku once again struggled to get back up. "We need reinforcements! I don't understand it. Where are they all coming from?"**_

"_**Miku, trust me, I can handle it." Kaito gave her an assuring smile as he gutted another vampire. Miku gave a grim look in a reply and built up a temporary barricade of her crystallized blood. Kaito glared at her while popping open his collar buttons so that she could be able to draw blood from his neck. "Miku, you idiot, you're going to waste more blood like that!"**_

"_**This will protect us from those savages for at least a few minutes—careful this might hurt a bit." Miku plunged her fangs into Kaito's neck. His eyes clamped shut in pain as his finger nails dug into his hands. Miku stopped at the sight of him in pain, but he turned his head up towards her and motioned for her to continue.**_

"_**I-It's not really you drawing blood that hurts—in fact, although I bet it's a vampire thing, it actually feels pretty good—just the part where you gouge into my flesh hurts like hell…" Kaito laughed lightly. He grimaced slightly as she continued to draw blood from him. It didn't hurt that much. After a couple minutes, it becomes more of a numbing pleasure, but the idea of him actually enjoying this made him feel like a masochist. It felt weird to hate vampires in general, yet love a vampire at the same time. **_

"_**That's enough." Miku retracted her fangs from his neck and lapped up the remaining blood, as her saliva immediately worked towards sealing the puncture wounds. "Sorry, Kaito…" She felt horribly guilty, as now he'd probably going to be the one having a hard time standing up.**_

"_**It's okay Miku, we can't have you fainting on the battlefield. Don't worry, I'm a pretty strong guy—" Kaito was stopped mid-sentence, as a clawed hand was driven right through his chest. When they hadn't noticed, a level-E had breached the blood barricade and had crept up on them. Kaito coughed up blood and fell forward as the vampire retracted its arm.**_

"_**KAITOOO!" Miku cried out. In a mad fury, she clawed through the head of the level-E with her bare hands. At that moment, the barricade was crashed by the rest of the multitude of level-Es. Miku glared at them, her red violet eyes glowing under the light of the red moon. Her pureblood powers now reached its peak, as she single handedly decimated all the vampires at once by manipulating their blood. Simultaneously in each vampire, she caused the blood to crystallize and spike outwards, skewering them from the inside out. Tears of blood flowed from her eyes after using her powers on such a large scale. She shakily crawled over to Kaito's body and turned him over so that he could face her. The overwhelming scent of the large puddle of blood that surrounded him made her head feel light. **_

"…_**M-Miku…y-you're crying…again…" Kaito weakly reached up to wipe a bloody tear from her face.**_

"_**Kaito! No… don't speak… save your energy…" Miku continued to cry while gripping his hand.**_

"_**It…d-doesn't really…m-matter… I'm g-going … to d-die… at this… r-rate…" Kaito reached into his pocket for the ring box, "H-here… Miku… I know… y-you still… h-haven't r-replied t-to…m-me y-yet…but I w-want…you to h-have it… My s-sais too… I know you'll take g-good care of…th-them…" He coughed out more blood.**_

"_**NO! I can still save you! Let me turn you into a vampire! I've already drunk your blood! Half the pact is complete! H-here," Miku slashed at her wrist, "D-drink this… Hurry!"**_

"…_**N-no…" Kaito shook his head weakly, "I d-don't…w-want…to be a v-vampire…"**_

"_**But then you'll live!" Miku cried out.**_

"_**I w-won't be…happy…h-hating myself…whenever…I l-look… at my own r-reflection…" Kaito gripped the pocket watch Miku had given him for Christmas, "I…d-don't want my t-time to…st-stop…"**_

"_**It… it will stop either way!" Miku's tears would not cease… watching the person who was the closest thing to a lover that she's ever had die… She even thought dying herself would've been less painful. **_

"_**M-Miku…be h-happy…I still…l-love you…f-forever…" Kaito whispered as the arm Miku was gripping went limp. **_

_Why?_ Why didn't she tell him that she loved him? Surely, if she had simply accepted his feelings, she would've gotten over Kaname eventually… So then why? What kept her so dedicated to Kaname? Miku shuddered while in her sleep, tears once again flowing down her face.

Meanwhile a figure watched her from the darkness, melancholy burgundy eyes staring at Miku's crying face. The figure reached over to wipe the tears from her face as she slept. "Who or what could you be dreaming of to make you this torn apart, Miku?" It was the gentle voice of Kaname with a tone that contained more concern than he'd care to admit. Perhaps there was also a bit of jealousy, too.

* * *

><p>"Miku… No offense, but you look terrible!" Zero snickered at Miku whose face had two large puffy bags perched beneath her eyes. It was morning now, about an hour before Day Class started. Miku and Zero were leisurely chatting while Yuki prepared for class.<p>

"I suppose that's what I get for crying all night," Miku covered the outrageous red mounds of skin, "If I cover them, I look better right?"

"Crying? How come?" Zero gave her a concerned look, "Yeah, you do, but I don't think you'll be able to keep that up all day."

"I had a bad dream." Miku sighed, absentmindedly touching the ring Kaito gave her. After her memory revisiting the night before, she had decided to actually put the ring on her finger instead of wearing it on a necklace around her neck. Sure, it looked slightly odd that she seemed married now, but she didn't care. After all, today is the anniversary of the day he died. She had nearly forgotten after all that's happened recently.

Zero stared at the ring perched on her finger, "…Are you married? Since when? Aren't you a little too young?"

"Woah, one question at a time, Zero," Miku laughed lightly, "No, I'm not married, I'm only engaged."

"ENGAGED? To who?" Zero exclaimed. It wasn't surprising Miku was engaged—she was quite pretty and had a good personality—but it was…out of the blue.

"To Death." Miku smiled sadly.

"Wait… You're not going to die soon are you?" Zero's eyes narrowed.

"Who knows?"

Despite her having had the same terrible nightmare that had reoccured several times before, Miku couldn't help but feel that this time it wasn't quite as bad. It felt as if a comforting presence had appeared and stayed with her while she slept.

* * *

><p>And the plot thickens! …Okay maybe not the plot… Just more character development. Sorry this chapter was shorter than usual… Honestly I didn't really feel like putting much into it asides from a large blast from the past. (facedesk) I now realize that flashbacks are a major plot device for me… I hope they don't get too annoying. Sadface. Constructive criticism appreciated (on things besides my run-ons—those are just part of my horribly processed, 'descriptive' writing. ; v ; ). Typos that my beta and I miss can be corrected if anyone points them out!<p>

Behind the scenes:

I wasn't really quite sure what to name Miku's best friend/almost-lover. Then my friend brought up Vocaloid and how whenever she read my fanfic she was reminded of it because of "Miku" from "Hatsune Miku"… Then me, being the quirky person I am, decided to name him Kaito. YOUSEEWHATIDIDTHERE? Ahahahahah…Just to be clear, I don't have any particular fondness of Vocaloid.

Clarification (things I felt the flashback didn't explain very clearly, but were too minute to really care about):

Miku met Kaito a little after she met Zero for the first time.

The current time is a little over four years after meeting Zero/Kaito.

Between that, she became partners with Kaito while working for the Vampire Hunters' Association (she's been working for them for a while).

After being best friends for three years, Kaito proposes to her (both Kaito and Miku are around 22/23-ish at this time). I really wanted one of those sweet sort of typical out-of-a-shoujo-manga type scenarios—but with a tragic twist.

I know that vampires are supposed to be nocturnal (and they still are in this fanfic), but Miku happens to sleep around 4 A.M.

Currently, Miku is 24 years old (by ways of human years) and like mentioned in her character profile, she appears to be 19.

Question: Why couldn't Miku just use her super awesome pureblood vampire powers to protect Kaito in the first place?

Answer: She's not experienced enough with her powers to use them at their full potential.


	8. Chapter 6: From Out Of Thin Air

I need my moe. (facedesk) However, I'm loving the reviews! See girls (or guys :o), reviews put me in such a good mood! I posted another chapter within a week (albeit it being choppily edited). Thanks for reading so faithfully! (heart)

**Step824:** I'm glad I didn't disappoint! (':

**CLayDOH:** You might JUST withdraw not calling me a betch for some of the plot twists I have planned out. . .(evil cackle)

**Wolf and Leopard:** I totally didn't forget about Kaname's reaction towards the ring. . .(And now I just lied). Your input is always appreciated (even when you don't realize it was really helpful input) for me who is a very mediocre writer (I do not deserve your praise). . . Please continue to enjoy reading this!

**W-Rabbit:** * nods * I concur. Yuki annoys me, too. Although I don't dislike her to the point of absolute revulsion. . . I just don't like how she's such a goody two-shoes and has to remain so on-the-side-of-justice (or maybe that's just me. . .being totally pessimistic). I believe that everyone—at at least one point in their lives—has a period where they've sunken (very) low. Which brings me to the point where. . .I think the moment in the manga where I've liked Yuki the most would be when she has that pureblood dark-side thingie creeping out from within her, telling her about how much she wants to totally devour Kaname (albeit the hotness of the whole idea) . . . Miku on the other hand. . .seems very Mary-sue. . .and sometimes I'd like to tear her to bits, too. . .(Oh I'm such a horrible author, huh?). . .She'll get some tearing down alright. (; HMMM. . .*foreshadows*. More tearing down*. More than the flashback with Kaito and everything. Eheh. ; v ; Sorry. . .I'm a very weird person.

By the way. . .I'm totally not writing these horribly long review responses to make this chapter look longer (I SWEAR!). I write chapters ahead of posting time to leave time gaps for editing in between! . . .and then I insert review responses before chapters are posted (so these are probably the most likely to have a ton of errors). I love reviews, and to show that I actually read them, I write these horrible, tactless, tedious-to-read responses! (HEART). Moving on.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my plot and my OCs.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: From Out Of Thin Air<p>

Miku let the melody of _Tears of a Polestar_ repeatedly play in her head, slowly letting herself mentally melt into the background of the room.

"_**Miku, you should let yourself relax more… add more COLOR to your life!" Kaito casually wrapped his arms around her shoulders. At the moment, they were at Miku's current abode. It was another small apartment with just enough room to house her brother and her. The piece of somewhat decorative furniture there was a simple, white, upright piano that was covered by a black satin cloth. **_

"_**And how do you suppose I do that?" Miku gave him a wry look, while tactfully peeling off his arms from her shoulders. They had been working together for two years now, and she finally remembered he was a man. A man that had so easily crept into her heart. A man whose presence so easily made her feel at ease, that it unnerved her in the most contradicting manner possible. And this man was Kaito Khrushchev-Iwamoto, a cooler-than-he-looks vampire hunter who was her longest standing partner in the business.**_

"_**How about learning how to play the piano? You have one around here right? 'Cause of your brother?" Kaito rewrapped his arms around her, this time with a tighter grip so that she couldn't arbitrarily peel him off.**_

_**Miku blushed at this, but tried to wave off the raising temperature in her face, "I'm not a very musically inclined person though."**_

"_**That's okay! We can start out simple!" Kaito dragged her to the piano and made her sit down, taking his place by standing behind her. After removing the satin cover, he then placed his fingers on the keys while simultaneously enclosing her between his arms as they went around her shoulders. **_

"_**P-personal bubble…being invaded…," Miku coughed in an alerting fashion, but Kaito ignored her indirect plea for freedom.**_

"_**Well I'm going to have to pop that bubble." He grinned slyly and began to play the melody to **__Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars__**. "How about we start you off with that?"**_

"_**That's…way too difficult for a beginning piece!" Miku exclaimed. "I don't even know which key is which!"**_

"_**Neither do I!" Kaito grinned widely, "I learned by memorizing what type of melody is produced from each key, and then mentally dissecting the tunes from any random piece I've heard."**_

"_**I'm no genius, Kaito…" Miku sighed, "How am I supposed to learn like that?"**_

"_**Listen. Watch. Learn. Feel the music resounding from each key that you play!" Kaito closed his eyes and began to play increasingly intricate pieces without even glancing at the piano.**_

"_**Sorry, I'm too deaf to listen, too blind to watch, too old to learn, and too emotionally inept to feel anything. Try explaining it in simpler terms." Miku head butted Kaito's chin while his defenses were down.**_

"_**Fine! At least memorize how to play my favorite song!" Kaito pouted at Miku.**_

"_**Excuse me? Why do I have to memorize **__your__** favorite song?" Miku glared. **_

"_**Because you love me and you need color in your life?" Kaito shot a round of puppy eyes at her.**_

"_**Argh! Fine! Play it until I can memorize it then!" Miku dearly regretted giving into his whims.**_

"_**Listen carefully then! It's called **__Tears of a Polestar__**," Kaito smiled and kissed the top of her head.**_

'_**How can I focus after you just did that?' Miku blushed deeply, glad that Kaito was looking forward at the piano and not down at her. Miku's sensitive ears quickly picked up the alluring melody of the song as it began to lull her into a half-conscious state. Its melancholy sound and regretful tone struck a chord in her own heart, as she began to feel her eyes moisten. But just before gravity began to pull tears down her face, the song stopped.**_

"_**It's nice isn't it? It always makes me feel at peace and yet at the same time, when I feel like crying, it'll encourage my tears." Kaito rested his chin on her head now, "It reminds me a lot of…you."**_

The reason why she wanted to play the song for Kaname, is because it had an uncanny ability to make one feel at ease and to allow one to freely vent their emotions. Kaname had always been the sort of person to wear a poker face no matter where he was. She simply thought the song would encourage him to be more open about his emotions. She didn't want to tell him all this, because she knew Kaname was a very prideful person.

"_**Exactly how does it remind you of me?" Miku frowned defiantly. Was she really such a depressing person?**_

"_**I don't know the right way to put it… but I guess you can say that it's because you've always had such a calm composure… but you really know how to make a person cry." Kaito said thoughtfully.**_

"_**So… I'm a cold-hearted bully?" Miku glared.**_

"_**NO… I mean…not MAKE people cry but… You never tell people to hold back their tears. It reminds me of… the time when I found out that my sister had died and you were standing right next to me. I was really trying so hard not to cry because earlier in the day we had just gotten a lecture from Yagari about the importance of not showing your weaknesses…and well, you just slapped both your hands on my cheeks and grabbed my face, telling me it was ridiculous to hold back your tears, because if you're sad, you're sad. Holding back my emotions won't make me stronger—learning how to overcome them will." **_

"_**Oh… that time…" Miku sighed and leaned her back onto Kaito, "Hey Kaito, if I… If I ever betray you, what would you do?"**_

"_**Well…it sort of depends on how you betrayed me." Kaito, for the third time, wrapped his arms around her, "Most likely I'd get you to pay me back in ice cream though."**_

"_**Why ice cream?"**_

"_**It's my favorite!"**_

"_**You'll get fat."**_

"_**Spoilsport."**_

Miku pulled the monochrome flower pin from her hair, allowing it to flow down to her mid-back in waves. She looked up at the ceiling wistfully pondering all that's happened in her life so far. "I feel old now." She sighed while rubbing the back of her head. She grabbed a handful of hair, spotting split ends, and steadied her sai to trim them. Miku spotted a mirror and began to even out her hair with the sharp edge of the sai. Amidst all the hair trimming, Miku spotted something absolutely dreadful in her hair…

* * *

><p>"Tsujita, you have a white hair," Natsume pointed to a spot on Tsujita's hair as she spat out some of the martini she was drinking.<p>

"W-W-WHERE?" Tsujita quickly pulled out a compact, hunting down the said white hair.

"Want me to pull it out?" Natsume asked amusedly.

"Go! Pull it!" Tsujita exclaimed.

Natsume effortlessly pulled out the white little devil and then asked, "But don't you know that if you pull out a white hair, three grow back in its place?"

"Why didn't you say that BEFORE you yanked it out?" Tsujita roared.

"Because it's just a superstition." Natsume teased. It was just another evening at _Pastel._ However, today, Natsume had plans to take Haru out on a little date. He had even arrived early just to surprise him. The door's bell chimed as Haru walked into the bar, his face slightly flushed. This happened to be Haru's first date—with a guy.

"G-Good evening, N-Natsume," Haru stuttered bashfully. Haru was dressed in his usual semi-formal attire, with a cobalt dress shirt, the usual black vest over it, and dark jeans. However, today, he actually had on a tie.

"A tie? How sexy," Natsume purred teasingly.

Haru blushed tenfold, "N-N-NOT FOR ANY REASON IN PARTICULAR…"

"Of course, Haru," Watanuki interjected while assembling another martini for Tsujita.

"R-Really! I'm serious! I just felt like wearing a tie!" Haru exclaimed defensively.

Natsume looked down at his watch and grinned, "Haru! Let's get going, my restaurant reservation is for 8 o'clock!" Natsume looked back towards Haru who was following him timidly. "You don't have to worry about anything, Haru. Just relax for tonight okay?" He lightly kissed Haru on the forehead. For once, Haru didn't push him away either.

* * *

><p>"And you're absolutely sure I can't leave yet?" What Kaien had just said absolutely vexed Miku. Miku was back in Kaien's office, once again inquiring when she would be allowed to leave. Apparently, the shipment of blood tablets had finally arrived, but for some unexplained reason Miku wasn't allowed to leave yet. "Kaien, I still have Haru to take care of. I don't even know if he's properly taking care of himself, because he absolutely despises blood tablets!"<p>

"I understand your concern Miku, but right now there's a complicated situation going on right now and spies from the Vampire Council have been lurking around the campus. I'm well aware of the fact that you and Haru have been under the radar for a while now, so trying to leave now will completely expose you. You can't hide the pureblood aura that exudes from your presence!" Kaien sighed with a troubled expression.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Miku rubbed her temples agitatedly, "Is there any way I can at least sent out a supply of blood tablets to Haru? As well as send him a message?"

"I suppose we could manage that. I'll have a Day Class student drop it off at the post office so it's not as suspicious looking." Kaien gave her a stern look, "But under no circumstances can you leave the campus at this time—got it?"

"Got it."

* * *

><p>Haru looked disdainfully at the glass of red liquid in front of him. Natsume noticed his depressing expression and laughed lightly at him, "It's just dessert wine. Very low alcohol content. I know you're under-aged and all, but it won't hurt to indulge just a little." But Natsume had the wrong impression of Haru. It wasn't really the idea of consuming something alcohol that had displeased Haru. It was the fact that the red liquid reminded him of blood—or more specifically blood tablets—that bothered Haru. Since his sister had left the house a few days ago, Haru had been living off the scarce amount of tablets left and normal food. However, his appetite had not been satisfied and he was extremely wary of the fact that he might actually try to ambush Natsume—which is the opposite of what would usually happen.<p>

"And how would you like your steaks?" The waiter inquired, pen and paper readied.

"Medium well," stated Natsume.

"And you sir?" The waiter turned to Haru.

Without thinking too much about how odd it sounded, Haru replied, "Extremely rare."

"Excuse me? Extremely?" The waiter blinked, dumbfounded.

"Erhm… Extremely, lightly cooked—like… warmed up…?" Haru smiled awkwardly, now wary of how odd his request sounded.

"Very well, sir. Excuse me," The waiter hurried off to input the orders.

"Extremely rare?" Natsume snickered, "So you like your steaks extremely bloody?"

Haru blushed, "So what if I do?"

"Oh, nothing, I just learned something new about you, that's all." Natsume folded his hands together as one of the small smiles that Haru always found himself compelled to admire at graced his face.

* * *

><p>Miku sighed for about the hundredth time as she paced down yet another dark corridor—one of many in the Cross Academy.<p>

"You must have a lot of spare time to be passively sighing to yourself for this long," said a tall, daunting man with choppy, long, dark hair and an eye patch.

"YAGARI?" Miku exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected to see Yagari here. He was usually busy with missions and the like.

"You seem a little too surprised. It's almost offending," Yagari feigned a hurt look. "Don't worry, I'm just here to keep an eye on those goons the Vampire Council sent out. The Vampire Hunters Association were concerned about the students possibly being attacked."

"Heh. What would I be worried about? There's no way you'd try to kill me. I haven't done anything yet. Besides, that would cause an even larger commotion with the Vampire Council!" Miku half-bluffed. Sure, she hadn't done anything that would equal her being put on the Vampire Hunters Association's blacklist, but she was unknown to the Vampire Council—therefore, they wouldn't cause any sort of commotion over her.

"You haven't done anything YET and the Vampire Council doesn't even know of your existence." Shit, her bluff was caught. "Don't get too pompous just because you're a pureblood, Kuran."

"K-Kuran?" A surprised voice asked from behind Miku.

"Damn." Miku turned behind her to see Aido and Kain, "Caught yet again…"

"You're related to Kaname?" Aido asked, bewildered.

"Does EVERYONE in this place pop out of nowhere?" Miku rubbed her temples as she felt a migraine coming up.

* * *

><p>"Enjoying your extra rare steak?" Natsume teased Haru as the two of them ate under the dim lighting of the restaurant.<p>

"Y-Yeah…" Haru replied, his face flushed. With each piece of meat he sliced out of his steak, a tiny puddle of blood trailed after it. Haru dragged the slices of meat around the plate with his fork, trying to sop up as much blood as possible.

Natsume had an amused look on his face. All dinner long Haru looked as if he was trying to clean all the blood off his place instead of eat his steak. "That's a really weird eating habit you have… Next time I should just take you to a restaurant that serves pig blood or something."

Haru gave a speechless reply of his usual blushing and went back to ceremoniously sopping up the blood from his plate. Oh, how he hated being a vampire!

"Do you have any ideas on where you'd like to go after this?" Natsume smiled pleasantly. He had a few schemes on back-up, but he had wanted to hear any possible suggestions from Haru.

"I…I want to b-build a s-snowman…" Haru replied nervously. It was an odd request, but Haru hadn't made one in so long… and well, building a snowman alone isn't really fun.

Natsume raised an eyebrow, but then smiled politely, "You're so… cute. Well, there isn't much snow around here, so why don't we take a drive up to the mountains? It'll be about a twenty minute trip, but with the amount of snow up there, it's well worth it." This date had proved to be more interesting than Natsume thought it'd be. Haru was a bit childish, but his innocence was what made him quite adorable. But then a thought hit Natsume, '…Haru wants to build a snowman… this late a night?'

* * *

><p>"So… you're Kaname's… sister…" Aido stated in disbelief. He gave Miku yet another glance over. Sure, there were a few resemblances in appearance between the two… but Miku acted nothing like the cool, calm, and charismatic Kaname! Next to Kaname, Miku was more like… a Tasmanian devil!<p>

"Yes…" Miku glared at Aido. The insulting thoughts towards her running through his mind was showing on his face. "Don't have such a look of disbelief. It doesn't take much to prove to you I'm a pureblood." She bit her finger in order to wring out a few drops of blood as proof. A delectable scent encompassed the room as the drops hit the floor.

"Sorry," Kain said as he elbowed Aido's side, "For Aido's disrespect, Miss Miku. His respect for Kaname is so overwhelming, no other person can compare to him. So, you being his sister, comes off as something difficult to accept. Right, Aido?"

"R-Right!" Aido winced, rubbing his injured side. "So, why haven't we ever heard of you?"

"I'm currently under the radar."

"Under the radar?" Aido blinked.

"Erhm, the Vampire Council isn't quite aware of my existence. Rather, they thought I died a long time ago." Miku picked up her sais and began to polish them in a very threatening manner, "Frankly, I'd like to stay this way for now. If you know what I mean."

"R-Right. We won't say anything! I don't know how I didn't notice you were a pureblood. Haha…hah," Aido laughed nervously, staring at the vampire hunting weapons in Miku's hands.

"Probably because you're a bit slow." Kain sighed, "I noticed right away when we met her earlier. Anyways, shall I inform Kaname that you're here, Miss Miku?"

"He already knows." She replied wryly. It'd be impossible for him not to know.

"How long will you be staying here?" Aido asked.

"I don't know for how much longer, but probably a while. Thanks to some complicated situation, I can't leave or else the Vampire Council will probably find me." Miku gripped her sais, "If only those lackeys were as dense as you, Aido."

"HEY!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Miku sighed again. She really needed an escape plan. The supply of blood tablets had already been sent out to Haru, along with a note informing him of her current situation, but she still couldn't help but be worried. Something was going to happen… she could feel it.

* * *

><p>"And well, I've been moving around ever since I was little. My sister always has to travel around for her work… my parents are…deceased… and yeah… I have to tag along to wherever she goes." Haru said while packing snow onto the snowman. They had already formed the spheres of snow for the body, but the shape just wasn't quite right. It looked more like a trapezoid than a circle.<p>

"I see… and the reason why you won't accept a permanent job at _Pastel_ is because you two move around so much?" Natsume nodded absentmindedly while also packing snow onto the snowman.

"Yeah…but I've become so attached to this place… I'd be really sad when we leave…" Haru pouted. The body of the snowman was just about complete. Now all they had to do was decorate it.

"Then don't leave!" Natsume spoke as if it was the most obvious solution in the world.

"W-What? But I have to… she's my sister!" Haru blushed, "I…I have nowhere else to go…"

"You can live with me," Natsume suggested, "I don't mind. Besides, I live alone in my own apartment and it gets pretty lonely."

"But…But…But…" Haru's face resembled that of a ripened tomato, "I can't just impose on you like that…"

"You won't be imposing. I like you Haru. I really do." Natsume smiled kindly, "It wouldn't be imposing at all."

"I…" Haru looked away from the snowman and towards Natsume, but blushed furiously once their eyes met, "I…"

"You…?"

"I…like you too, Natsume." Haru's confession was so sincere, Natsume felt the blood rush to _his_ face this time. The two laughed nervously, trying to eliminate the sudden awkward silence as they continued to decorate the snowman. Despite the weather being cold, it felt quite warm. The fluttery feelings that surrounded the two could surely melt the snow.

* * *

><p>"You two…sort of rub me in the wrong way." Miku's eyes narrowed towards Aido and Kain—but mostly Aido. Merely ten minutes had passed and the two were playing twenty questions with her. They asked pointless questions about everything from her shoe size to why she worked for the Vampire Hunters Association despite being a vampire herself.<p>

"I'm just curious about your background is all." Aido pouted. Miku was like a new plaything for him and the fact that he hadn't quite accepted her as a pureblood just made him even less respectful. "Moving onto my next question, what's your bust siz—"

"WHEN WILL THIS NIGHTMARE BE OVER?" Miku slapped Aido square in the face.

"You know, in order to wake up from a dream, normally you'd be inflicting pain on yourself?" Kain inputted.

"Yeah, but I figured, dream or not, this guy needs some pain in his life." Miku continued to slap Aido repeatedly across each cheek until Aido's face was adorned with a bright red hand print on each side.

"At least don't slap my good side!" Aido whined.

"What good side?" Both Miku and Kain inquired.

"You three look like you're having fun." Kaname stated bemusedly as he appeared out of thin air before Aido had a chance to retort.

"Kaname… are there like… trap doors set up all across the academy? Because everyone seems to pop out of THIN AIR! I haven't been able to get a single bit of privacy around here…" Miku glared at Aido.

"Well, I think it's just because a lot of rumors about you have been circulating throughout the Night Class. Although, there aren't any trapdoors I'm aware of." Kaname smiled widely.

"And can you convince these two I really AM your sister? We've been playing twenty questions for I don't know how long, and they're starting to get to really invasive questions!" Miku repeatedly smacked her hand on a coffee table in front of her. Kaname's glance towards the ring on her left hand, which hadn't been there before, went unnoticed.

"Aido, Kain, as difficult as you may find it to believe, Miku really is my sister." Kaname turned towards the two, convincing them she really was his sister.

Unfortunately for Miku, Aido's questions didn't cease, and eventually she began to space out. Despite the package of blood tablets having already probably arrived at her apartment, she was still gravely worried about Haru… There was only one plan that she had left in order to make sure he was well nourished. "Hey Kaname… How far can a blood servant move from its master?"

Blood servants were a helpful tool that purebloods and most high class vampires were able to manipulate. True to their name, the servants were made of their master or mistress's blood and were able to take on any form that its sire desired.

"I haven't really tested out how far they can go, but from my experience, at least several hundred miles?" Kaname replied thoughtfully. He was curious as to why she would want to craft a blood servant though. Sometimes carelessly making them could drain a lot of blood from the master. Kaname was well practiced in forming them, though, as he often sent ones to watch over Yuki. "Do you plan on creating one?"

"Yeah. You just need any open flesh wound right?"

"Would you like any assistance?" He made another subtle glance towards the ring, but this time Miku caught it. It might've just been her imagination, but he seemed to be a bit...curious. Rather than curiosity, she would've preferred a look of jealousy.

"Nah… I'm fine." She smiled wryly, nervously touching the ring's band of silver. The offer had sounded almost sadistic. Only Kaname, with his cunning poker face, could pull off a curious expression while still having malicious offers flow out of his mouth. Oh, how he irked her!

* * *

><p>This chapter was a bit more light-hearted. Sometimes the story feels too rough around the edges with all the unbalanced tragic events introduced into nearly every chapter. I'm sorry if the scenes were difficult to keep up with since I skipped around a lot between Miku and Haru. . .Speaking of which. . . YEAH! Some Haru and Natsume action! Aren't you guys happy?. . . No? *cries*. Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoyed it so far. (: *sigh* Sometimes I feel like my own OCs are OOC. . . :( If anyone is too OOC. . .tell me? ("Too" is defined as. . .so much so to the point that you would smash in the keys of your keyboard in utter rage as you attempt to type a review clarifying how horribly OOC the character is.) If my "too" doesn't fit your "too", and it really bothers you anyways. . . Please notify me. I will take notice of that notification and let said notification run through my head everytime I think of the said character. Then your notification will also be taken with me to my grave as I die of the pain from CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome). I am also a very sarcastic person. . .But don't let it scare you. Sarcasm is only the truth—but crueler.<p> 


	9. Chapter 7: Expect the Unexpected

I'm baaack! ; v ; Sorry for the wait!  
>The amount of reviews I've received since posting chapter 6 is. . .phenomenal (for me). . .I mean really (despite it being mostly from one person)!. . .And, no, that was not sarcastic. (Heart)<p>

Review Replies:

**W-Rabbit:** Sorry for the lack of Miku x Kaname action. . .their relationship tends to make a lot of 180-degree turns . . .as for them ending up together. . .(: Hmmm. . . .(LOL. . .That's the intention. . .No need to lie about it). Please continue to enjoy reading! (heart)

**Dark Void Princess 21:** You. Deserve. A. Really. Big. Cookie. LOL. Thank you for all your reviews! (HEART). I'm happy to hear that there's a good balance between dialogue and action and whatnot. ; v ; I always worry about such details. . . Even now it's difficult to keep a balance in my writings (causing me to often have to go back and add in things to polish up the chapter).

**Wolf and Leopard:** I always look forward to whenever you reply since you really weave a lot of personality into your reviews! (': I hope I can continue to keep up with your expectations! (heart)~.

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

"**Phone call" **

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my plot and my OCs.

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><p>Chapter 7: Expect the Unexpected<p>

"Don't worry, Natalya. I'm fine." Miku said, trying to reassure her Russian companion that she wasn't under any more stress than usual. After all, today was still _that_ day.

"**Miku! You underestimate my connections! For all you know, I could be spying on you this very moment!"** Natalya's light Russian accent echoed throughout the room. **"I'm only worried that you'd be overly hung up over the death of my step brother. After all, today is **_**that**_** day." **

"It's been a year already. I can take care of myself, Natalya," Miku sighed, "The concern is greatly appreciated though." She added as she went to busy herself by assembling a glass of blood.

"**Miku… When Kaito died, it seemed as if a part of you died along with him. You refused to speak with anyone for weeks after! Even your own brother! You were like… a dredged up shriveling spud…!"** Natalya exclaimed.

"Your figures of speech are as amusing as always…" Miku smiled wryly to herself. "Anyways… Really, Natalya. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"**You're wearing his ring aren't you?"** The Russian narrowed her eyes.

"Ack…," Caught red-handed.

"**Miku… you did that after he died too. During those couple weeks of muteness, you latched onto that ring as if it was your own heart. You even scratched my face when I tried to grab it from you! All it does is remind you of him! TOSS IT AND MOVE ON!"** Natalya shouted.

"Natalya…" The pureblood narrowed her own eyes this time, the anger in her voice rising steadily, "It's not necessary for me to throw away something so precious to me so arbitrarily. I'm not drowning myself in self-pity or anything at all. I'll be _fine_. This ring isn't a memento of Kaito's death. It's a memento of some of the happiest moments of my life. Please, don't try to separate me from them."

"**That ring is not some memoir. It's your last attachment to Kaito. I think you should just leave it behind and pursue a new romance,"** Natalya berated, **"Like…with Kaname or someone. Ugh… Why do I even bother with you? You're just a stubborn ass."**

"Because you dearly love me and can't get me out of your mind?" Miku fluttered her eyes sarcastically.

"**Right. Where did I leave my brain again?"** Natalya retorted.

"On my bed. Under the blankets." Miku snickered.

"**Too much to drink?"**

"I'm only slightly intoxicated—but this time I can't blame it on the alcohol." Miku sipped some blood from her glass.

Shortly after yet another one of their sporadic spouts, their phone conversation ended. Natalya failed to convince Miku to dispose of Kaito's ring, but was at least satisfied that Miku wasn't too down under the dumps. On the contrary, though, Miku now began to think more deeply about Kaito after their conversation and was once again on the verge of tears. '_Ugh, I cry way too much._' Miku thought defiantly, as she wiped the moisture from her eyes and decided it'd be better for her to toughen up. It'd probably wise to not be caught crying, lest she get attacked by another game of twenty questions.

"Miku?" Came a voice from the door, which was soon followed by a knock.

"I didn't think anyone around here knew the meaning of knocking! Come on in! I must see this person who must be an endangered animal known as 'polite'!" Miku mocked. It was Kaname. Oh of course, Kaname must've been the politest creature living around here.

"You're bitingly sarcastic—as usual," Kaname noted as he let his gaze stray unconsciously towards the ring on Miku's finger.

"Kaname. You've been staring…" Miku lifted her left hand to signal where his glances had been straying to for a while, "…at this ring?" It was her turn to play games this time.

"Maybe." He gave her a smoldering look in an attempt to avoid her question.

"I'm engaged you know?" Miku avoided his glance. Surely if she didn't, she'd be bewitched. Miku knew how his _games_ usually went.

"Engaged?" Yes, just the response she had been waiting for. There was a slight spark in his eyes… it was tiny… but still a spark! "To whom, might I inquire?"

"Kaito Khrushchev-Iwamoto." Miku feigned a dizzily content expression with a similarly merry voice as she made constant, loving, fleeting looks towards the ring perched on her finger.

"Who's that?" Kaname's eyes narrowed.

Miku opened her mouth to answer, but paused for a long while in an attempt to distinguish an odd sound from afar. It sounded somewhat like _air being beat into submission_. A really large bird? Wait no… you'd only hear that if you were up close to its wings… Flying machinery… A plane? No… a helicopter. '_Wait a helicopter?_' Just as she had thought…why couldn't she have less eccentric people for companions?

"KAITO KHRUSHCHEV-IWAMOTO IS MY DISGRACE OF AN ELDER BROTHER." Roared a Russian-accented voice which overpowered the sound of the skies being torn asunder (the helicopter). It was Natalya. An unfamiliar face to Kaname.

"Natalya… nice of you… to drop by…" Miku smiled wryly. She just had to come didn't she? Was their conversation on the phone not enough to convince Natalya that she was fine?

"Who is this…delightful person, dear sister?" Kaname said while plastering his usual smiling mask back onto his face.

"This is Na—" Miku started, but was quickly interrupted by Natalya.

"I am NATALYA KHRUSHCHEV!" She declared.

"—Step sister of Kaito Khrushchev-Iwamoto. Kaito is purely Japanese. His mother married a Russian associate and simply combined last names to hold onto her Japanese heritage. Natalya, on the other hand, wanted to keep her Russian surname and decided not to have it combined." Miku continued in a single breath, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible.

"That's very nice to know, Miku, but—" Kaname started, but this time Miku was the one to interrupt.

"—You asked for it." Miku jabbed a finger to his chest while his guard was down and received a curt glare for it.

"You insolent pureblood! Do not ignore me!" Natalya shouted from the helicopter which was now at a constant hover next to Miku's room on the second floor.

"You're a human right?" Kaname's eyes narrowed dangerously, but the malice was quickly masked by one of his signature smiles. "You have such great confidence in yourself that I won't snap your little frail neck—"… Or maybe the malice wasn't really masked at all…

"AHHH KANAME! HAHAHA! You're SO funny. That was just a playful threat, Natalya! Don't mind him! Right, DEAR BROTHER?" Miku smacked Kaname repeatedly on his back, his guard somehow down again.

"Miku. Daaahling. I know how to sense maliciousness. I've been working around the Russian mob and all sorts of _underground_ associations for far long enough to know when someone is out for my head." Natalya said almost too proudly. It was true though. Natalya, being the extremely outgoing and headstrong person she was, had gathered many connections with various underground groups. She gained a countless amount of allies… and enemies.

"How could I forget…?" Miku laughed dryly and thought, '_You crashed into my house with a Russian __**tank**__ on the day Kaito introduced me to you…_'

Kaname noticed the beads of sweat forming on Miku's brow and chuckled quietly to himself. "Natalya, might I know why you're here?"

"I'm here to take Miku along with me to visit Kaito's grave." Natalya stated as she jumped from out of the helicopter and into Miku's room through the window she just shattered.

"You're paying for that…" Miku twitched at the shattered glass which littered the floor, then glared at Natalya.

"Of course. Put it on my tab. You still have my credit card right?" Natalya asked as patted Miku on the shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure I shredded it a long time ago." Miku replied curtly, while giving her nails a glance over.

"You cold bitch." Natalya seethed as she withdrew her hand. '_Psh… never accepting help from anyone. She must think she's some lone wolf._'

"Why thank you." Miku smiled, flattered.

"I don't think my presence is needed here. Miku I'd like to hear your explanation as to why you're engaged to a deceased _human_ the next time I see you," Kaname gave another one of his gentlemanly smiles and exited the room.

"…Ah shit." Miku heaved a sigh. '_Is it just me or does he seem to care more about the human part of Kaito rather than him being deceased?_'

"Hmm?" Natalya raised a brow towards her friend.

"I almost won, too." Miku stared at Kaito's ring in depression. She had lost the _game_.

"Won what?"

"Nothing, nothing." Miku turned on her heel towards Natalya, "Seriously, what are you doing here? I doubt you really came here with the intention of paying respects to your 'disgrace of an elder brother'."

"Ah… Yes, you're right. I just wanted to see if you were really okay. A phone conversation can only so do much." Natalya patted Miku on the face. "Seeing as though I'm already here, I might as well explore a bit. Shall we make our way, Miss Tour guide?"

"Who's your tour guide?" Miku glared at her eccentric companion.

"Why, you are of course!" Natalya exclaimed as she gave Miku a tight hug.

"And to your left you can see the illustrious Night Class of the Cross Academy making their way towards…class." Miku said while imitating a tour guide, fake microphone and all, as Natalya busied herself by hanging off her arm. Miku thought for a moment as something struck her as mildly odd. '_Where did the helicopter go?_'

And as if reading her mind, Natalya replied, "By the way, my henchmen left with the helicopter to park it somewhere in the forest."

"I see…" Curse these eccentric people.

* * *

><p>"So where do you think Kaname went off to?" Natalya asked while absentmindedly admiring some of the Victorian-like décor which was scattered across one of the academies various corridors almost haphazardly.<p>

"I don't know what he does in his spare time. Maybe he's playing mind games with some other poor soul." Miku bit out wryly.

"What makes you say that?" Inquired a voice from down the corridor.

"Well, for one thing, he's awfully adamant about keeping all his emotions under lock and key. He's always going off and doing things on his own, making me worried to bits over whether he's calculating the end of the world or on his way to becoming a domineering evil step sister…" Miku responded in a mock-serious fashion.

"Is that really what you think of me?" Speak of the devil.

"Oh damn… Kaname when did you get there?" Miku laughed nervously. Natalya observed their exchange in mild amusement and let her eyes drift to the companion beside Kaname whose question had initiated Miku's folly.

"Who's the beaux, Kaname?" Natalya pointed to the blond haired vampire next to Kaname.

"First of all… a beaux is an escort for a _woman_…" Kaname twitched, having a harder time than usual with pasting on his smiley façade. Natalya seemed to just push all the wrong buttons with him…

"Well you're girly looking enough to look the part!" Natalya retorted.

"My name is Takuma Ichijo. Pleased to meet you," Takuma interrupted before Kaname could fire back his own retort and walked forward to plant a polite kiss on Natalya's hand, "Might I have the honor of knowing your name?"

"What a gentleman," Natalya's eyebrows raised as a sign of her mild impression, "Sorry, but you'll have to work a bit harder to earn the honor of knowing my name."

Natalya is a sadist.

"And how might I do that?" Takuma seemed quite taken with the Russian.

"Jump off a cliff."

One point for Natalya, zero for poor Takuma.

"Easy." Takuma bowed, "Good thing you didn't state how high of a cliff."

A tie.

"Natalya… don't go torturing vampires… I know you generally hate the lot of us, but I can assure you that most of the vampires here aren't as despicable as you label them to be." Miku intervened, before Natalya could retort.

"Any close companion to Kaname is probably a masochist." Natalya licked her lips. "Just my type." To Miku's surprise it seemed Natalya was fairly _fond _of Takuma (this being fond for Natalya's standards), but she was quite worried about how this would turn out. A sadistic human and a masochistic vampire seemed like quite a reversed pairing.

"What are you doing here anyways, Kaname?" Miku didn't really feel like asking Kaname anything, but she felt that if she didn't keep him busy he might just try to leave a huge gash in Natalya's neck.

"Oh, Takuma and I were simply finishing up a game of detectives." Kaname answered as if it was the most common thing in the world.

"Detectives?" Inquired Miku and Natalya simultaneously.

"One of the students from the Night Class happened to let his bloody thirsty nature get the best of him and preyed on a Day Class student." Takuma frowned, "Kaname has already dealt with him though."

"I'm surprised Kaname's influence didn't prevent this from happening. Do you not enforce a rule that vampires in the Night Class to abstain from assaulting the human students?" Natalya bit her lip slightly.

"Fortunately Kaname doesn't exercise his power to the extent that we're all under his total dominance 'twenty-four-seven'. But I suppose that works against us as well sometimes. I'm surprised you're so knowledgeable about us, Natalya," Takuma complimented with a smile to match his words.

"HEY. Who gave you the honor of being allowed to utter my name?" Natalya violently tugged on a fistful of Takuma's blond locks. Despite the aggressive gesture, a glint in her eyes just screamed 'I looove how submissive he is!' "My family has close ties to all sorts of underground associations. That includes the Vampire Hunters Association. With such connections, it is a given that I am well-rounded in my knowledge seeing as though these are such basic facts. I would be a disgrace to my family otherwise."

"You're so admirable." Takuma's eyes gave off a similar glint. It seems they were meant to be.

"Takuma, you're scaring me." Kaname stated blatantly.

"My sincerest apologies, Kaname." Takuma gave an apologetic look to Kaname before once again turning to Natalya, "For a human, she's just so… fascinating."

So Takuma was not only masochistic, but a fan of eccentric people.

"Oh, Miku, tomorrow night there will be an all vampire party hosted by the Aido family. I would like if it you could attend." Kaname handed Miku a formal invitation letter.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to indulge. You aristocrats always bring the finest refreshments." Miku eyed the invitation letter absentmindedly.

"Might I remind you that because of your lineage you are also considered an aristocrat?" Kaname said smoothly.

"I don't live like an aristocrat, I am not treated like an aristocrat, and I'd much prefer to make a living out of _killing_ aristocrats. Therefore, I don't consider myself an aristocrat." Miku replied coldly.

"Nonetheless, I will be expecting your presence tomorrow." Kaname stated without missing a beat, "Good night, dear sister."

As soon as Kaname left, Takuma trailing closely behind him, Miku and Natalya were left in a stark silence.

"I have some business affairs to attend to, so I'll probably be in and out of the academy for most of the next couple weeks." Natalya said while breaking the silence.

"Oh okay." Miku yawned, but then froze in realization of what Natalya just said, "Wait…you mean you intend on living here?"

"Well I'll be in and out most of the time, but for the meanwhile yes, I intend on staying," Natalya replied nonchalantly, "I've already arranged for my things to arrive and Kaien has already prepared a room for me near yours."

"Wait when did you get to speak to Kaien?"

"Trade secret."

* * *

><p>"Ugh… I've already tried this four times! What am I not getting right?" Miku shouted to herself. She was currently at a small clearing in the forest behind the academy, attempting to create a blood servant. From what she remembered of how her parents did it, one was supposed to use one's vampire abilities to shape the blood from a fresh wound into a stable vessel. It was a lot harder than Miku thought it'd be. Obviously shouting at her blood wasn't working miracles. "I'm starting to feel woozy too." Miku grumbled. The proper ritual for creating a blood servant also requires a fresh wound each time one attempts to create a vessel. The more blood offered to create a servant, the more powerful the servant. The more powerful the servant, the bigger the wound is required to be.<p>

"There's an awfully delicious scent saturating the air around here. Miku, do you intend on feeding yourself to the vampires around here?" Kaname stepped out from behind a tree, the darkness of the forest having masked his body. He had been there for a while now, curious to see how Miku would fare with creating a blood servant. Even he would admit that it was no task for amateurs.

"You're here to mock me huh?" Miku grumbled miserably as she made another gash at her wrist.

"Why are you using up so much blood? A servant doesn't really need more than a few drops." Kaname asked, amused.

"Rather than having a need for a servant, it's more like I simply need a vessel to carry my blood to Haru." Miku answered while attempting to channel her blood into a vessel.

"You're such an overprotective sister."

"Touché."

"Shall I help you?" Kaname offered.

"I'm impressed you can remain so composed despite the 'delicious scent' of my blood 'saturating the air around here'—let alone holding yourself back from devouring me on the spot." Miku bit out sarcastically while ignoring his offer. "But I suppose you're holding out quite well since you've already had a nice serving of pureblood recently."

"And I suppose you're offering yourself to me like a sacrificial lamb." Kaname whispered from behind her, his sudden proximity surprising her.

"N-No…!" Miku felt her body stiffen as his warm breath, which stood out from the chilling night air, collided with her neck.

"It sounds like it to me," Kaname's eyes smoldered as he gently grabbed her arm and began to lap up the blood from yet another failed attempt in a very savoring manner.

"K-Kaname…" Miku stuttered. It probably wasn't right of her to relish this moment which could easily be the marking point between life and death for her. Unfortunately, her heart caused her to be too easily submissive to Kaname's whims. When had her affections for him strengthened so much? She had so wanted to believe that her emotions were finally under control, but all those years of repressing her un-sisterly affections for Kaname along with her memories must've made her weak to even the littlest contact with Kaname.

"Hmm? If you have something to say, say it." She could now feel his fangs gliding up and down her wrist teasingly.

"I-I…"

"Go on." His fangs weren't quite puncturing her skin, but she could feel a trail of slight indentations from them gliding around her wrist.

"Y-You can't…" Miku felt like a blathering idiot as all the words she wished to say sped through her head, yet somehow her mouth would only utter the beginnings of mere sentences.

"Can't what?" This was a game Kaname would _always_ win.

"I-I have to…" Damn it.

"…Be my next meal?" He slyly completed her sentence which obviously wasn't what she planned on saying. And he knew it. He now made multiple slight puncture wounds around her wrist—just enough to draw out a few drops of blood from each individual wound—and consecutively lapped up the blood.

"S-stop…" Her voice was now a mere whisper as proof of how far she had fallen into Kaname's seductively bloodthirsty notions. However, Miku really couldn't afford to lose any more blood if she intended on making a blood servant.

"What? I can't hear you." Kaname gently let down her arm, and this time began to attack her neck with teasing gestures similar to light kisses—except with his fangs.

Miku was simply at a loss for words. Her knees felt weak from both the blood loss and Kaname's heated actions. She thought gravely to herself, '_I have a horrible feeling I won't be waking up for days after this. I know Kaname won't kill me, but he's likely to drain me of all but the __**bare**__ minimum amount of blood needed to keep breathing._' Despite these thoughts, her body responded with a hoarse shudder as he began to feed on the blood from her neck. And she scolded herself for it. Her body was nearly completely limp as she felt herself curl into Kaname's frame.

"It's astounding how weak you are right now." His words which reflected the reality of this situation were like daggers to her pride. However this blow to her pride made her finally snap out of her stupor in time to avoid being Kaname's next full course meal.

"Kaname. If you're here to help me make the blood servant, then get it over with. At the rate you're going, I probably won't have any blood left to use and I'd prefer to have it completed before dawn. I'm not sure how much longer Haru will fare with his hunger thanks to his hatred of blood tablets." Miku responded curtly. She utilized the last bit of strength in her legs to stand up straight, ignoring how lonely her neck suddenly felt as he obliged to her request by causing his fangs to part with it. He gave her one last coy smile before he began to seriously instruct her on how to create a blood servant.

Miku spent the rest of the night lightheaded from blood loss, but had finally managed to complete a blood servant which took the form of herself. She immediately commanded it to go to Haru and it gave a deep bow as it disappeared into the darkness of the night.

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><p>A PG-16 treat for my patient readers (well. . .there's more to come actually). I've begun to not care about having proper English (as you can probably tell from this chapter). . . But sometimes grammatically incorrect sentences make saucy scenes like this all the more dramatic? Aren't you guys happy you don't even need to wait for the chapter following this? I KEEP MY PROMISES! Haha… After drawing up the sauciest scene I've ever written from the confines of my mind. . . I believe I deserve a review. Possibly a few. But I suppose that's up to you readers. *dead*<p> 


	10. Chapter 8: Bon Appetitie

Here's the second part of your double chapter release!

Obviously no review responses here. . . ; v ;. . .

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

"**Phone call" **

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my plot and my OCs.

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><p>Chapter 8: Bon Appetite<p>

As Miku laid in bed, her body felt weighed down by her exhaustion and loss of blood. Kaname had done her a favor by carrying her over here after having collapsed from blood loss, but not before having an interrogation session with her about Kaito.

"_**Okay, blood servant, I need you to move to Haru as soon as possible. I know it sounds a bit morbid considering your life has to be so short…gosh I don't even know if blood servants have a mind of their own…" Miku felt at a loss for words as she tried to give her newly made blood servant its commands. **_

"_**They don't." Kaname answered her, "Or rather, their mind is yours, and they react to whatever you desire of them."**_

"_**Oh okay… So… Sorry.. still… erhm… I'd like you to tell Haru that you're essentially his blood ration and that whenever he can't bear his thirst he should readily attain blood from you." The blood servant nodded in response. It gave a deep bow as it slowly melded into the darkness of the night. **_

_**Relieved that the ordeal of creating a blood servant was finally over, Miku fell inelegantly onto her bum. Kaname watched silently as Miku struggled to get back up, but kept falling backwards after each attempt. She simply had no strength left in her legs. **_

_**Kaname, smiling politely, offered a hand to her, "Shall I escort you back to your room?"**_

"_**If you don't mind…" She gave him a wary look in reply. Her suspicious expression was justified. The moment she took his hand, he gave a short but strong tug, causing her to fall forward into his arms. Her body, too weak to hold up against Kaname's strong grip, simply laid limp against his frame. She gave a sigh of exhaustion, "Nothing good ever comes out of accepting help from you, huh?"**_

"_**That offends me deeply, dear sister." Kaname feigned a hurt look, "Since your job is done, I don't see why you can't hang around a little longer. Besides, you still owe me an explanation about your engagement to a deceased human." His arms now gently encircled Miku from behind. It almost felt loving…if one ignored the malicious thoughts Kaname was probably having.**_

"_**Well…you see…it's not like I wasn't engaged to him…" Miku struggled to find the right words to prevent Kaname from doing anything extreme, "Or rather…we weren't officially engaged…But he did propose!"**_

"_**And somewhere along the way he died before you two got married?" Kaname's voice didn't sound murderous, but Miku could still feel his stare burning a hole into her neck.**_

"_**We were on a mission from the Vampire Hunters Association… The usual Level-E extermination, but this time there was a hoard of them being controlled by a pureblood…Although the mission was completed, Kaito didn't make it back…and we never found out which pureblood was behind it all…" Miku said softly. Kaname's gaze softened as he could feel her lightly shaking. His arms tightened their hold around her just slightly—just enough to hold her closer against him. Just enough to make her feel as if she was sinking further into him—both her body and mind. However, this time the proximity didn't bother her. In fact, she felt perfectly content with it.**_

"_**I see…" Kaname replied vaguely. His actions were beginning to confuse her… more than they usually did. Was his small comforting gestures meant to butter her up so that he could eat her? Rumor has it that blood tasted better when the victim wasn't in a state of sheer terror.**_

"_**Kaname, I feel a bit tired. Do you think you could help me get to my room?" Regardless, Miku was willing to milk as much as she could out of the currently complacent Kaname.**_

_**Kaname seemed to give a thoughtful look, but then his cunning nature quickly resurfaced, "I feel rather weak myself, so I think I shall have a quick meal to energize myself. Bon appetite." Oh Kaname, you abusive bastard. Kaname hadn't drained Miku of particularly a large amount of blood, but compared to what she actually had left, it was still a lot. Unfortunately for her, her prediction of Kaname leaving her with just the bare minimum amount of blood needed to breathe… was just about correct. But in the end, he was gentlemanly enough to carry her back to her room and to even tuck her into bed. Meanwhile, she had barely managed to stay on the brink of consciousness whilst processing only tidbits of what was going on.**_

'_And to think that Kaname is still going to force me to attend that dumb party tonight.'_ Miku thought bitterly. She never really gets much of a break around here.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for your hard work today, Haru!" Watanuki shouted to Haru as he left <em>Pastel<em>. All week Haru had been leaving the bar earlier and earlier. Watanuki gave Haru a worried look, his eyes following Haru's figure as he disappeared off into the distance.

Haru gave a lazy wave as he disappeared from Watanuki's sight. After passing a couple blocks, he felt his legs give out as he collapsed onto the ground. "Urgh…" He grunted, "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…" Miku had been gone for about a week now and his hunger made him compelled to attack the nearest human nearby. Usually if she was here she would at least find ways to force him to drink the faux blood (and if he was being extra stubborn about it, she'd make him drink her own blood). However, as he was home alone, no one was there to keep track of his eating habits. At one point he was almost tempted to crawl over to the nearest Vampire Hunters Association base, but his pride kept him cooped up at home trying to cope with the pangs of bloodlust.

Unfortunately, amidst yet another one of his hunger pains, Haru came across one very huge obstacle.

"Haru..? Are you okay?" It was Natsume. Natsume had been on his way to _Pastel_ and happened to get off work earlier today. He had noticed the lack of Haru's presence the past few days. According to Watanuki and Tsujita, Haru had been leaving earlier and earlier all week. Today Natsume had hoped he could catch Haru before he left, and luckily (but not so luckily for Haru) his wish was granted.

Haru gave Natsume a wary stare. He was doubtful that he could hold back his hunger if Natsume stepped any closer to him. "D-Don't come near me…"

"Why?" Natsume's eyes widened. Haru was acting like he had the rabies or something.

"J-Just d-don't…" Haru felt pathetic writhing on the ground in front of Natsume.

"Haru…Let me take you to the hospital… My car is parked not too far from here," Natsume rushed up to Haru and tried to help him up. Haru mustered as much strength as he could to get out of Natsume's hold, which resulted in him accidentally pushing Natsume over.

'_Not good…not good… not good…!_' Haru thought as he panicked. Not only did he push Natsume away when he was only trying to help him, but Natsume had also scraped his arm when he tried to cushion his fall. The wound on Natsume's arm bled lightly, but the scent was enough to rouse Haru's hunger even more. Haru could feel himself on the brink of sanity. The smell drove him wild.

"Ouch…" Natsume said as he nursed his arm. "Haru… what's going on?" Haru was absolutely vexed. How could Natsume still be worried about him after he had just shoved him away?

"I…I…" Haru's eyes became slightly teary. "S-Sorry Natsume…!" Haru staggered as he tried to step back from Natsume. Haru felt his eyes keep trailing back to the bits of exposed flesh on Natsume's neck from the partially unbuttoned collared shirt he was wearing.

"Haru…? I'm fine… this doesn't really hurt at all!" Natsume tried to assure Haru, but Haru had fleeted into the darkness of the night.

'_Run, run, run!_' Was all Haru could process as he tried to avoid something he knew he would dearly regret. What had greeted him back home was _salvation_. It was Miku! "MIKU! YOU'RE BACK!" Haru exclaimed as he ran towards 'Miku' to embrace her.

"Apologies, Master Haru, but I am not your sister." The blood servant spoke monotonously, "I am a blood servant created by your sister."

"Eh? Why would Onee-chan create a blood servant?" Haru stared at the blood servant and jumped back when he realized he was still embracing it.

"Mistress Miku created me in order to be a food ration for you. She was worried that you were not properly taking care of your meals." Now that Haru had taken a closer look at the blood servant, despite its similarities in appearance to Miku, its eyes seemed soulless and its tone of voice was emotionless. Creepily enough, the blood servant didn't seem to blink either. It was like a doll that could only move and speak.

"Well… Onee-chan's intuition is spot on as always… I felt like dying from hunger all week…" Haru felt his stomach churn as he thought back upon what had just happened a few moments. "Well…I hope you don't mind, but I'm actually quite ravenous right now…"

"…," The blood servant's reply was silent as it compliantly leaned its head over to allow Haru to partake the blood from its neck.

"Bon appetite."

* * *

><p>It was night again back at the Cross Academy. Miku fastened a simple silver chained necklace which had Kaito's ring hanging off it around her neck. She fashioned an Antonio Castelli Prom short halter party dress which she self-tailored a bit by adding fourth tier. Her hair was in its usual partial bun, except this time she sported the silver butterfly hairpin that Kaname had given her years ago. As a last addition, she also wore white rose earrings. Polished and pretty, Miku sauntered out of her room, stealthily tucking her sais into the dagger garters that went around each of her upper thighs. You can never be too safe at a party for vampires.<p>

Kaname's eyes widened when he saw her. He was ready to escort her over to the party, but was slightly taken aback by what he saw, "Miku…you… you tailored the dress I had personally ordered for you! And you're wearing no shoes! What about the heels I had sent you?"

"Heels are too troublesome to run in." She replied nonchalantly. This was revenge for him splurging on her blood.

Kaname sighed, "I thought something like this might happen… Although I can't do anything about the adjustments you made on the dress without riskily ripping more than one tier off, I can at least make you wear suitable shoes. Wear these, Miku." He handed her a pair of simple round-toed white flats adorned with a black bow on each. At least they matched her dress.

"It's hilarious that you actually thought to bring an extra pair of shoes. It seems you know me better than I thought you did," Miku laughed lightly.

"Hilarious indeed," Kaname held his arm out for Miku to grab onto. She stared at it for a while and gave into the feeble thoughts at the back of her mind which were telling her to enjoy being spoiled by Kaname while she still could.

It wasn't a very long car ride to the location of the party, but what surprised Miku the most was that the building in which the party was being held at seemed awfully… shabby. As they stepped out of the car, they noticed Aido and Kain hovering around the entrance.

"…Hanabusa." Kain said slowly.

"What's wrong Akatsuki?" Aido blinked.

"For some reason, Yuki Cross is lying unconscious in a place like this." Kain gave Aido a glance from over his shoulder. Aido stepped closer to the unmoving figure of Yuki but stopped as he heard Kaname's voice from behind him.

"What a troublesome child…" Kaname muttered darkly. In the background a few of the guests had already began to arrive and were mumbling intangible things probably in wonder of why a human was there.

"Yuki…" Miku stared from afar. From the looks of it, a vampire child must have stolen energy from her, causing her to faint.

Kaname quickly took care of the situation and had moved Yuki to a private room in which the other vampires wouldn't dare barge into. He also made the decision of watching over Yuki until she regained consciousness.

* * *

><p>Miku heaved a sigh as she downed her eighth glass of blood. Upon Yuki fainting and him carrying her over to a private room, Kaname had completely ditched her. Miku did a good job of masking her presence as a pureblood (which was even easier since her powers were fairly weak from the lack of blood in her system), but she could tell that some of the aristocrats had noticed something unique about her (and it wasn't just that her dress was a lot less formal than everyone else's). Miku then grumbled as she thought about her poor, adorable sister. Yuki was her sister too! Why wasn't she allowed to also watch over her? Why just Kaname? It wasn't fair.<p>

Miku glanced up from her ninth glass towards the crowd of high class vampires that surrounded her. They seemed to be chattering in excitement about meeting Kaname. Amongst the crowd she spied a few familiar faces.

"Why is he the one that's here?" Aido stared at Zero in contempt.

"Hanabusa. Is Master Kaname here yet?" An elder vampire who was likely Aido's father asked, "There are many guests who would like to meet him…"

"I know, father. The vice president of the dorm is trying to get him to come out." Aido sighed.

'_Heh. It's not very easy pulling Kaname away from a defenseless Yuki.'_ Miku scoffed almost smugly. At least she could be proud of how responsible her brother was. After all, they both had placed protecting Yuki and Haru as their main priority back when they had split up.

Miku noticed Yagari suddenly next to Zero as the two were having a small banter. She walked over to them, surprising the both, and silently waved with a coy smile. For a moment the crowd of surrounding aristocrats shifted their eyes towards her, this time chattering about what her relationship with vampire hunters could possibly be. Miku frowned for a moment… extremely tempted to just allow her pureblood aura to exude. She was scared though. Secretly worried about what would happen if the Vampire Council found out about her. Worried of what Zero would think of her once he found out that she wasn't simply just a vampire…but a pureblood. Zero seemed to despise purebloods just as much as he despised Level-Es. She decided to go and visit Yuki to take her mind off things. Who cares if Kaname hadn't really allowed her to see Yuki? Yuki was her sister and that's all the initiative Miku needed.

Miku downed her tenth glass in a fairly uncouth manner, slamming her glass on a nearby table after. The glass subsequently shattered. That gained her a bit more attention from the aristocrats who were now probably whispering insults about her. Gosh, these aristocratic vampires were like gossip mongering high school girls.

Miku spotted the staircase which led to the second floor and began to ascend them. She able to find the room fairly easily as Kaname's presence was quite strong tonight. She heard muffled voices from within as she stood in front of the door. Resting her head against it, she did one of the things she knew how to do best. Eavesdrop.

"You don't think I'd be upset at you?" Kaname spoke softly. He sounded calm, but obviously his words said otherwise about his mood.

"Bu…But…" So it seems Yuki had regained consciousness, "The one who was wrong was Kaname…"

"Who do you think is the one that made me act like that?" Kaname asked, "Your heart is beating quite fast. Maybe you understand a little bit about how I feel…"

"Eavesdropping isn't a good habit, Miku," Takuma whispered from next to Miku. Miku jumped.

"Wow, you're a sneaky vampire aren't you? I barely sensed your presence." Miku glared at the blond.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Takuma smiled politely, "If you'll excuse me, I need to drag Kaname downstairs to greet the guests." Takuma opened the door without caution.

"Come in…" Kaname sighed in an aggravated manner, "So now it's you who has come to call me, right?"

"Kaname… You don't have to say it like that." Takuma smiled, "The head of the Aido family who is hosting this party is still waiting to greet you. Plus… Yuki has already woken up…"

"…" Yuki seemed confused for a moment. '_Exactly where am I?_' She thought as she realized that he room she was in was quite elaborate.

"Kaname, she'll be fine if she stays in this room. Nobody would dare barge in here." Takuma assured Kaname, "Besides, your escort is also waiting for you. I believe she must have been bored after you left her so suddenly to tend to Yuki."

"W-What!" Miku fumed, as the one Takuma was referring to was her, "Don't say such ridiculous things! I was completely content being on my own…!"

Ignoring her, Takuma kept his attention directed towards Yuki, "Speaking of which… Why did you collapse there? Yuki?"

"Y-Yes!" Yuki jumped slightly as she was snapped out of her own thoughts.

"We brought you over here so the guests won't see you. You were lying conspicuously in front of the entrance. We already contacted the school, but could you stay here for a little longer? So what happened?"

"Um… I brought a lost child to the front of a rundown building…and he kissed me on the cheek… Um… That's all I remember." Yuki said unsurely while trying to recall what had happened to her.

"That's one of the guests' children at tonight's party I bet… Vampire children steal energy from people…" Takuma leaned his head slightly against one of his hands, "Yuki, this place is the basement of that rundown building. The Aido household owns this building, and tonight there is a party for vampires that live near here. In this building there are currently a large number of vampires. If they find out that there is a human here… You'll be in great danger, Yuki."

"Kaname, why don't you let me keep Yuki company for a little while? You should probably start greeting your guests already." Miku smiled politely towards Yuki.

"Very well then." Kaname nodded and as he passed Miku at the doorway he whispered to her, "Don't say anything unnecessary."

"Yeah, yeah," She shooed him off playfully and stepped inside the room, the door shutting silently behind her.

"Excuse me, but what is your relationship with Kaname?" Yuki asked Miku curiously, "I don't see many people talk to him in such comfortable terms."

"Hmm…well…we're…" Miku wasn't sure if this counted as telling Yuki something unnecessary, "I'm…uh…"

"If you don't wish to tell me it's alright," Yuki looked down, her dejection was as obvious as a fresh blood stain on a white shirt.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you," Miku smiled warmly to her sister, "I'm Kaname's elder sister."

"Eh? Really?" Yuki exclaimed.

Just then, the door creaked open and out appeared a small child. A vampire child. "Human Onee-san, I'm very sorry about earlier…" He said nervously while hiding behind the door.

"You're a vampire right?" Yuki asked, surprised, "Did you find your mom?" But the child simply walked away, "Um…Kid? Don't tell anyone that I'm here." She called out to him in the hallway. As she stepped out of the door, Yuki finally noticed the loud chattering from outside.

"Yuki, don't get caught." Miku advised. Although she cared dearly for her sister, she wasn't as overprotective about her as Kaname was. It wouldn't hurt Yuki to step out of the room…and even if any of the vampires did spot her, Miku was ready to fight. Miku unconsciously shifted one of her hands above the sai at her thigh.

Yuki stared in awe at the abundance of aristocratic vampires below her. It was quite obvious what she was thinking from the expression on her face.

"Does it surprise you that so many famous people are vampires?" Miku crossed her arms casually.

"Sort of… but when I think about how easily influential and charismatic vampires are… it doesn't really surprise me after all…" Yuki replied hesitantly, but then thought, '_If the general public found out that they were all vampires…How would they react?_' Yuki then spotted Zero in the crowds and quickly ducked down behind the balcony railings.

"Oh, you spotted Zero?" Miku laughed lightly. It was so easy to see what Yuki was thinking. Just then Zero must've felt Yuki's stare and looked up—only to spot Miku. Miku waved jovially to him in response. He then blushed, realizing that the first person that came to him mind when he felt the stare was Yuki.

Suddenly the chattering of the crowd of vampires intensified as Kaname finally entered the scene. The vampires parted like the Red Sea and all gave respectful bows as he charismatically walked forward.

"Master Kaname, is it true that you took this human's side at the board meeting?" One vampire asked while still in the middle of bow, gesturing to Zero.

"It is true." Kaname replied coolly. More chattering followed.

"Master Kaname is brilliant… He is trying to make amends with the humans, so we can have a peaceful future with them. It is a very astute thing to do," said a voice from the crowd.

"Master Kaname, thank you for taking care of my son." It was Aido's father.

"Thank you very much for inviting me to this party, Mr. Aido. I'm sorry that I do not show up at parties much." Kaname replied, his usual mask back on his face.

"Do not worry about it, Master Kaname. Actually, today I have a favor to ask of you." The elder Aido gestured towards a young vampire girl behind him.

"Father!" Aido exclaimed.

Ignoring him, the elder Aido continued, "This is my daughter, Tsukiko. It would be great if you would take interest in her. Our family would like that very much."

"Father, please stop." Aido begged, and then in a lower voice said, "Kaname, I didn't ask of this."

"I do not know how things will turn out, but I will keep that in mind," Kaname gave a slight, polite smile at Tsukiko, who blushed in response.

Then suddenly the crowd of vampires burst with pleas for Kaname to meet their own daughters.

"Kaname used to completely ignore the subject before…," said another vampire from within the crowd.

"Yes. He has matured and understands the importance of the purebloods' role," replied another voice.

Then suddenly the chattering ceased, as another extremely charismatic presence entered the room and the aristocrats all deeply bowed again as they made way for her.

"Everyone… Please do not say things like that. Poor Master Kaname…" it was Sara Shirabuki, one of the last purebloods that remained. As she moved closer to Kaname, the crowd gossiped about how it was a rare sight for Sara to appear at a party.

"Sara…It's been a while." Kaname greeted.

"Kaname, I haven't seen you at all ever since you started going to school." She smiled softly. Kaname gave Sara a polite kiss to her hand, "We are the only remaining pure blooded vampires. We have to stick together."

"Oh how wrong you are," Miku seethed to herself under her breath.

"Did you say something Miku?" Yuki asked absentmindedly while she stared at the scene going on below.

"Uh…Nothing!" Miku laughed sheepishly.

"I think… I'll just go back to the room now…" Yuki said softly and before Miku could say anything in response, Yuki had already ran back into the room, slamming the doors behind her.

"…" Miku frowned silently. She didn't like this…Sara person. Pureblood or not, Miku refused to feel any respect for this vampire.

It didn't take very long for Kaname to greet everyone, and not long after did he make his way back upstairs. He gave Miku a stern look, as he pushed her up against the balcony railing, forcing her to bend her back dangerously over it. "You let Yuki step out of the room! What the vampires from down below noticed her?" He let out a low growl.

"No one noticed her, Kaname. Besides, if anyone did, I'd take _care_ of them immediately." She replied stoically.

"I thought you knew better than to defy my orders after I had pretty much done you in last night." Kaname wasn't pleased by her reasoning.

"Do you plan on a repeat then?" She bit back a growl.

"I should be asking _you_ that." Without allowing Miku to retort, Kaname bit ferociously into her neck, the little gentleness he had had last night was nonexistent at this point. The smell of her blood filled the air, as the aristocrats from below looked up to see where the succulent scent was protruding from. If one thought that their chattering was loud already, they would see that this sight had just increased their noise tenfold.

The aristocrats bustled with fervor as they witnessed Kaname Kuran devouring the blood of another female vampire. From the scent of her blood, they all instantly realized that this vampire was a pureblood. A pureblood that none of them were able to recognize.

"K-Kaname…s-stop…!" Miku breathed out heavily, her fists pounding light against his shoulder blades.

"Why?" Kaname continued to teasingly savor her blood, now starting to hold back a bit, as his intentions were far from killing her, "You're probably enjoying this way too much for it to be a punishment."

"K-Kaname…you b-bastard…" Miku heaved, her face flushed from the fact that she _was_ enjoying it—not that that was something she'd care to admit, "Now all the aristocrats here know of my existence…!"

"Good. I was just thinking that it was about time you removed yourself from hiding." Kaname replied darkly. When he finally ceased feeding on her, he licked her wounds clean. Everything but the initial puncture marks had healed quickly on her neck. Kaname walked away stoically after that, heading towards the room Yuki was at, tidying himself up in the meanwhile.

"Damn that Kaname…" Miku grumbled as she gripped her neck, staring at the bloodstains on her dress. Luckily for her, they weren't extremely obvious since it was a mostly black dress, but even if the blood didn't appear there, its scent had already diffused throughout the whole ballroom.

"Miku! Are you alright?" Zero shouted at her from down below, a worried look etched onto his face. Yagari was also beside him, but his expression didn't make him seem concerned at all—more like entertained.

"Yeah…But I've been better." She replied. Fortunately Kaname hadn't drank that much of her blood… It just seemed like a lot since he was being messy about it and taking his sweet time lapping it up. Those ten glasses of high quality blood were also keeping her on her feet.

"Miku…watch out for yourself now. You're no longer under the radar." Yagari warned her.

She gave a dismissive wave as she walked over to the room Yuki and Kaname were in, intent on exacting some of her revenge. What had greeted her, however, did not settle well with her though.

"Kaname…?" Kaname was currently laying his head a little below the crook of her neck, his body atop of Yuki's, as the two laid on the long sofa.

"Before I forgive you, please let me stay here for just a little longer…" Kaname said softly, "…I must be tired…" as he relaxed, his eyes began to close slowly. It was a portrayal of exactly how at peace he was by Yuki's side.

"…It's fine. I will do anything for Kaname…" Yuki said gently, as she wrapped her arms around Kaname's head comfortingly and nestled her head above his.

'_You're getting sloppy, Kaname,_' Miku thought to herself, as she watched the whole event happen through a crack in the doors which Kaname hadn't fully closed. She gripped a hand over her heart, as she knew that what he had done to her last night wasn't even comparable to the loving gestures that were going on in this room. Jealousy is a _bitch_.

* * *

><p>Ohhh. . .Kaname. . .you can't have them both! (Sighs). You big player. You're lucky you're sexy. . .otherwise this authoress would put you through hell. . . God. . .Well, that's the end of this heart wrenching chapter! Sorry for any grammatical errors and whatnot. . . ( got lazy with editing ). . .<p>

P.S. The dress Miku was wearing to the party is real. (You can look it up if you're curious.):O . . Just a fun fact. Teehee.


	11. Chapter 9: The Calm Before the Storm

Those last two chapters really exercised my creativity. . .But fear not. . .I'll keep writing despite the fact that I still have AP homework to do. Hurrhurrhurr.

Review Replies:

**blackflames101:** Yes, Kaname is quite the sex. I mean. . . he is quite sexy.

**Wolf** from **Wolf and Leopard**: I've decided to finally be smart and acknowledge there are in fact two different people running that account. Hence, the 'Wolf'. It's interesting how one's opinion of a character in a manga changes as the story develops. I remember being a total fangirl for Kaname because he was so suave and kind (at first). . .Then after he killed Shizuka I became a Zero fangirl. . .But then after Kaname's twisted nature surfaced. . .I felt myself running back to him. I don't know why. LOL. The one thing that has never changed about Kaname is that he's sexy. I'm extremely happy that you like Miku that much and that you like my Natalya(OC)/Takuma pairing (I won't fault you for forgetting her name. . .I do have quite a handful of OCs in this story to remember. . .even I have to reread my own chapters to make sure I don't completely abandon them mid-story). I hope you'll keep enjoying this story. :D 'Cause it's going to get fairly complicated. . . ; v ; Sorry for the long reply.

**U know who I am:** Y-You troll! Q-Q;;

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

"**Phone call" **

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my plot and my OCs.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: The Calm Before the Storm<p>

"Looook…you…infuriating… gossip mongers! Hic!" Miku hiccupped, "You can stare at me all you want, but I'm not going to grant you even the _honor_ of knowing my name!" Miku chugged yet another glass of blood. She was essentially draining a large supply of the party's refreshments. Everything from pure Type A to Type O, to the alcoholic bloody beverages—Miku drank them all. She wanted to intoxicate herself so that the little envious beast within her would be muted by a large bloody migraine. Because of her antics, she had gained even more attention from the aristocrats. Many of them found her absolutely fascinating once they knew she was a pureblood, but some of them were completely appalled that someone this uncouth was a pureblood.

"Won't you at least grant _me_ the honor of knowing your name?" It was Sara Shirabuki. The crowd of aristocrats chattered on about the encounter between the two pureblood female vampires.

Miku hiccupped again and gave Sara a slanted stare, one of her eyes barely half open, "_You_? Do you think that just because you're a pureblood I have to respect you? Please… Don't misunderstand me. I completely _despise_ you." Miku giggled crazily, "I despise purebloods that flaunt their authority! Look you silly aristocrats! I already know that some of you are beginning to doubt that I am a _pureblood_. I wouldn't blame you. In fact, I'd much prefer to be seen on the same level as you people—if not _lower_!"

Sara's eyes narrowed as the expression on her face was not a pleasant one. This did not go unnoticed by Miku. However, the expression was wiped from her face quickly and replaced by a smiling mask similar to the one Kaname always sported. Sara pouted, "So you are not willing to tell me your name?"

"Hmm… If someone can bring me a few more glasses of these extra bloody, Bloody Mary's I'll take it into consideration!" Miku laughed heartily. Her order was honored, as a servant quickly brought her a platter of Bloody Mary's.

"Does that please you?" Sara's smile twitched as she witnessed Miku chug down glasses at a time.

"Teehee…" Miku giggled, "I see you guys must be quite serious about knowing my name!"

"Miku." As Kaname walked into the room, all the vampires once again made way for him while bowing, "Do please stop being an embarrassment to the Kurans."

"Kuran?" The chattering from the crowd intensified once again as the unveiling of Miku's identity occurred.

"God… You vampires just…SHUT UP! You're making my head huuurt…" Miku whined, as she violently grabbed the neck of the nearest aristocrat, lifting him with only one hand.

"Miku, calm down," Kaname put his hand on the arm which was still suspending a vampire in midair, "Besides, it's your extreme drinking that made you sensitive to the noise."

"F-Fineee," Miku slurred, "Buuut you better let me feed on you instead this time, because I don't want it to take foreeeever for me to replenish my blood!" She giggled.

"If that is what you wish, then very well," Kaname pulled her away from the rest of the Bloody Mary's and proceeded in escorting her out of the building. The aristocrats chattered amongst themselves after this, as Sara let out a low, inaudible growl.

The party had finally come to an end.

Miku snoozed quietly next to Kaname in the car ride back. Yuki sat across from them in the short limousine, making nervous glances towards Kaname. She could still remember their earlier exchange, and despite Kaname apologizing for frightening her, she still felt just a little insecure.

However, Yuki wasn't the only one being haunted by the memories of Yuki and Kaname's intimate exchange. Miku, the currently stone dead drunk, was having dreams about it.

"_**Kaname…?" Yuki's eyes widened as Kaname leaned forward, his lips just centimeters from her neck. She shuddered as she felt him lick her skin.**_

_**Kaname froze for a moment, moved back, and gripped the pillow beside her head in an attempt to control himself, " 'Your kind'… Only lives for what seems like seconds to us… So transient…Do you want to become a vampire…? Yuki…Become a blood sucking monster like me…Live for eternity by my side…?" He leaned forward towards her neck once again.**_

"_**Yes…" She murmured softly.**_

_**Kaname opened his mouth wider, his fangs protruding, ready to bite, but her tears stopped him from partaking from her. "Sorry… I got too carried away… I won't do anything to you." He apologized and held her against him, "I'm sorry for scaring you…"**_

"_**Kaname…I…" Yuki began, but Miku didn't think she could stomach hearing anymore of this, so she sauntered off to have a drink or two…or a couple dozen. **_

"Miku…Why must you be so troublesome?" Kaname sighed softly. Miku's head slipped from its upright position and began to lean on Kaname's shoulder after the limousine hit a slight bump in the road. Kaname chuckled slightly and leaned his head on top of hers in a similar fashion, closing his eyes slightly. Yuki watched the two purebloods rest peacefully during the car ride that had seemed much longer than she thought it would be. Mixed feeling enveloped the group, but neither feeling really stood out from the other. It just felt really lethargic.

The limo had finally arrived at Cross Academy. Yori and Kaien were there to welcome Yuki back, while Kaname carried the dead drunk Miku back to her room. Amongst the turbulent chaos that had gone on recently, the first snow had appeared—the first snow which marked the calm before the true storm…

* * *

><p>"Are you depressed that I'm leaving?" Miku said in a teasing voice as she repeatedly patted Zero's head in a demeaning manner.<p>

It was vacation time for the Cross Academy students. Students bustled as they were preparing to leave the academy for their winter break.

"I-I'm not d-depressed! D-Don't be ridiculous!" Zero shouted in defiance. Well he was a little depressed. Zero thought to himself, _' I'm not depressed! Not at all! ...Okay…maybe just a little…No, not even a little! Like… REALLY little. I mean…what if she doesn't come back?'_

"I'll make sure to bring back souvenirs." Miku grinned.

"Wait… you're coming back?" Zero blinked in confusion. He was under the impression that Miku was going to resume her life back with her brother.

"Mhm…," Miku nodded, "Eventually at least." She was glad that Zero wasn't acting oddly around her. In fact, chances are he didn't even realize she was a pureblood. She gave Zero a friendly hug before walking off to leave with Kaname.

Meanwhile, Yuki was bidding Kaname farewell.

"Alright then, please take care, Kaname," Yuki smiled meekly.

"Thank you." Kaname gave a slight smile in response as Yuki gave a curt bow.

Miku walked up to Yuki, giving her sister a warm smile. "Take care of yourself okay?" Miku said while giving Yuki a hug.

"O-Okay," Yuki blushed, surprised by Miku's sudden expression of affection.

"Kaname, we're going back to my place first right?" Miku tapped Kaname on the shoulder light when she caught up to him.

"W-What? Kaname is going to stay at my mansion!" Aido shouted defiantly as he thought to himself, _'Curses, this woman is going to ruin my bonding time with Kaname!'_

Miku stared at Aido for a moment, then laughed at him. "Kaname is _my_ brother. What makes you think you'd be prioritized over me?" She said in a condescending tone. She was well aware of Aido's uncanny obsession over Kaname. It was written all over his face.

"The plan is that I'll be going to Miku's apartment to help her move her belongings to the academy. We've decided to have her live here temporarily after vacation. My younger brother shall be moving in with her as well," Kaname explained, "But I will stay at your mansion with her as soon as we gather up their belongings."

"…You have another sibling?" Aido's eyes sparkled towards Kaname, "Is he as magnificent as you?"

"Let's just say he's…special," Miku said while patting Aido on the head.

"Let's be on our way then," Kaname held out his hand to Miku, "Miku?"

"You know…me having to move all my stuff and bring Haru along with me is all your fault right?" Miku glared at the hand offered to her.

"Yes, and I'm taking responsibility aren't I?" Kaname smiled politely, "I still have to treat you to a _meal_, too, remember?"

"Eh?" Miku blinked curiously, '_What meal?_'

"You so blatantly asked of me for a meal back when you were drunk at the party." Kaname smiled coyly.

"_**Buuut you better let me feed on you instead this time, because I don't want it to take foreeeever for me to replenish my blood!"**_

'_Oh crud. I didn't, didn't I?_' Miku thought to herself, as her expression turned grave. Even if Kaname had seriously agreed to that… He would get back at her for it somehow.

"Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything…yet," Kaname's smile widened.

"Urgh…" Miku grunted. She had already incurred the wrath of Kaname.

* * *

><p>"Wait… explain to me why these guys are also tagging along with us?" Miku's brow twitched.<p>

"They said that since we're all going to end up at Aido's mansion, we should just stay together," Kaname replied nonchalantly.

"But…you guys attract way too much attention!" Miku's temper flared at the thought that the _pest_ (Aido) was going to go to her house. She didn't really mind the rest of the vampires tagging along after Kaname, but that _pest_ was definitely someone to be avoided…He actually dared to ask for her bust size!

"So where are we heading?" Takuma asked politely. He, along with the other aristocratic vampire teens, were not very familiar with the train system. Thus, all the ticket purchasing was left to the begrudging Miku.

"Tokyo."

* * *

><p>The vampires stepped off the train with their usual charismatic magnificence, drawing the attention of all the eyes that surrounded them.<p>

"Kaname, we should have taken a car even if it would have taken longer than a train…" Aido muttered.

"Oh…you THINK?" Miku fumed, "What part of ATTENTION-GRABBING did you forget you were associated with?"

"Miku, hush." Kaname scolded, "Aido, we're only being watched. I doubt these people will rush us."

"The Day Class started off by only gazing at us like this." Ruka, the long-haired vampire, sighed in dismay.

"Now that you mention it…" Takuma inputted, "Kaname is the only one that was watched from a distance at school… Maybe they instinctively understood that he is a 'fiendish creature wearing the skin of a beautiful human'…?"

"Takuma…" Ruka stared at Takuma for his odd conclusion.

"Takuma, I think you're on to something!" Miku cheered—until Kaname elbowed her in the stomach discretely. "Oomph!" She grunted in pain.

"Fiendish creature…" Rima, the twin-tailed modeling vampire, muttered unsurely while looking back at Kaname.

"Kaname, Ichijo is saying bad things about you…" Aido tattled.

"Yes… I think he's hit the mark." Kaname responded coolly.

"HEY! If you thought he hit the mark, then why did you hit me—!" Miku was then elbowed again by Kaname.

"In any case, let's be on our way," Kaname smiled innocently, "We have a schedule to keep."

* * *

><p>"Y-You…l-live in this sh-shabby l-little apartment?" Aido stuttered upon the sight of Miku's abode. The other vampires stood in a similar state of shock, but Aido was the only one to voice it.<p>

"Yes...I also share this little apartment with my twenty-seven butlers and maids," Miku responded sarcastically. It wasn't her fault that she could only afford to live in an apartment this small! The Vampire Hunters Association wasn't exactly a generously paying establishment. Rent in Tokyo definitely isn't cheap either.

"How can you fit your servants into this place?" Aido gasped.

"I DON'T HAVE ANY!" Miku shouted.

"EVEN MORE GASP!" Aido narrated what he was supposed to sound out.

"Now, now…" Takuma smiled politely, "We can't all afford endless luxuries due to the fact that our parents are filthy rich, highly influential, prominent figures of society."

"Takuma, can I punch you?" Miku grinned while _graciously_ holding her fist up.

"Onee-chan?" Yawned a sleepy Haru who had just come outside to see what all the noise was about. To his pleasant surprise, his sister was finally home.

"Oh… Haru! Sorry, did these buffoons wake you up?" Miku smiled apologetically while gesturing to the vampires behind her.

"Actually your voice was the loudest…" Haru admitted sheepishly. Miku walked forward to hug him, then immediately stomped on his foot. "OUCH!"

"Oh, what did you say?" Miku said in an uncompassionate tone, "I couldn't hear you over the sound of these buffoons."

"We get it already, we're buffoons." Aido glared at Miku.

"Actually, you're enough of a buffoon for all of us." Rima said coolly.

"Who are all these people?" Haru interjected.

"These buffoons—I mean vampires—are all aristocrats from the Cross Academy." Miku replied, "I'm sorry, Haru, but we're moving again."

"W-wait w-what? W-Why?" Haru's eyes widened. The thought of having to leave this place…leave the friends he made at _Pastel_…leave Natsume… It absolutely crushed him.

"Thanks to our beloved brother, the Vampire Council is now aware of our existence, and so we shall have to move to the Cross Academy for protection." Miku glared at Kaname.

"K-Kaname-nii-sama…" Haru stared at Kaname. He hadn't noticed that Kaname was there.

"Have you missed me, Haru?" Kaname smiled gently.

"N-not at all!" Haru shouted defiantly. Of course he didn't. He hated Kaname. He hated the Kaname that had caused Miku to cry so much. He hated the Kaname that didn't even care to visit him and his sister.

"A shy little brother?" Aido blinked curiously.

"Nope." Miku answered, "Haru absolutely despises Kaname."

"You didn't inform me of this." Kaname turned towards her.

"I didn't feel the need to." She replied nonchalantly, "Haru was still a little kid when we separated from you—as was Yuki. Obviously, you're not someone he really grew up to love. At some point in time, he even started to hate you. I have no idea why though."

"I see." Kaname responded, no emotion really evident on his face. He turned to look over at the now pouting Haru.

"I'm sorry to rush you, Haru, but we have to pack our belongings as soon as possible. We have to head over to Aido's mansion before the next daybreak." Miku gave Haru an apologetic look, knowing just how much Haru didn't want to move. She then entered the apartment, the rest of the vampires following shortly after.

"Can I at least say good-bye to everyone at _Pastel_?" Haru asked dejectedly.

"I shall go along with you." Miku nodded, "I have some acquaintances there as well."

"What is this _Pastel_ you speak of?" Kain asked, voicing the thoughts of the other vampires.

"It's a neighborhood bar that I work at," Haru answered.

"You work at a bar? Aren't you underage?" Ruka asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but I only play the piano there," Haru smiled slightly.

"You must be as good as Miku has told me. Would you mind letting me hear you play?" Kaname asked his brother politely.

"Y-Yeah…" Haru shot a weak glare at him. He wasn't really mad at Kaname for asking him to play the piano… Glaring at him was simply a reflex.

"Haruuu…," Miku called out to Haru, "Where's Maoko?"

"Now that you mention it… I haven't seen Maoko around since you left…" Haru said thoughtfully.

"So you lost Maoko?" Miku gave him a deadpanned look.

"Maoko has always been free to go wherever she pleased…remember?" Haru stated, offended by Miku's accusation. The subject was quickly dropped as the group made their way over to _Pastel_.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to <em>Pastel<em>!" Watanuki greeted the large group of vampires, "Haru, you've come with so many guests today! What's the occasion?"

"I-I'm m-moving away…" Haru answered meekly.

"WHAT? WHY?" Watanuki dropped the glass that he was polishing, letting it shatter to pieces.

"My sister's job…" Haru let his eyes stray away towards the left of his vision.

"He's looking to the left. He must be lying." Tsujita breathed out a puff of smoke. She sat at the counter, as equally surprised as Watanuki to hear that Haru was going to move away.

"I'm n-not…" Haru's brows wrinkled as his eyes began to moisten.

"Is it me or is Haru quite weak hearted?" Ruka whispered to Kain.

"I wouldn't say weak hearted, but it seems he's quite soft after associating himself too closely with humans…" Kain replied in an equally low tone.

"Isn't that implying the same thing?" Rima said bluntly as she sipped some red wine.

"Both Miku and Haru are not nearly as impressive as Kaname…" Aido muttered bitterly as he sipped some of his own wine, "It's quite the let down."

Suddenly, Aido's glass shattered in his hand, causing its contents to splash all over Aido.

"I'm sorry we're such a disappointment." Miku smiled darkly, her right fist tightly clenched. "Sorry about your drink." Her bottled up anger caused her to temporarily lose control over her powers, which ended up with Aido's glass spontaneously exploding.

Aido looked down towards his arm, blinking in absolute shock of what had just happened.

"Woah… What was that?" Called a voice from the doorway. It was Natsume. He had just entered the bar, just in time to see Aido's glass spontaneously explode.

"Natsume! It's horrible! Haru is going to move!" Tsujita cried out to Natsume.

"What?" Natsume abruptly turned towards Haru, "Where?"

"K-K-Karuizawa…" Haru stuttered. Now for him to face his biggest obstacle: Natsume.

"That's quite far from here…" Watanuki mumbled.

"Haru, why don't you just move in with me?" Natsume offered kindly.

"I c-can't… " Haru blushed.

"He just BLUSHED. I saw a BLUSH. Was that a BLUSH?" Aido asked incredulously.

"Sh-Shut up!" Haru blushed even more this time.

"No need to be embarrassed, Haru," Natsume smiled and walked over to hug Haru from behind, "We are an item anyways."

"WHAT?" The whole bar shouted—all except for Miku.

"When did this happen?" Watanuki and Tsujita asked simultaneously.

"During our date," Natsume grinned while holding a peace sign, "We confessed our undying love to each other."

"Un-Undying l-love…" Haru blushed furiously at Natsume's frankness.

"Love that can challenge the lifespan of a vampire? How interesting." Takuma smiled.

"Y-You're not bothered at all by this?" Aido, mouth agape, asked the calm and composed Miku.

"Not really," she replied unperturbedly, "I'm more surprised that you're a homophobe—considering your creepy behavior towards Kaname."

"I'm not a h-homo!" Aido shouted defiantly.

"Riiight."

* * *

><p>"You're right, Miku," Kaname said peacefully while his eyes were half closed, "Haru's piano playing is quite impressive."<p>

"He's always had a knack for it," Miku sipped her Bloody Mary.

"Haru is simply amazing," Natsume smiled warmly, "No, the best."

"I'm glad you think so, Natsume," Miku turned towards him casually, "So how did you get Haru to fall so hard for you? I won't confidently say that I've always known he was bisexual, but I did get the feeling he's always been the kind of guy to fall for anyone that treats him right—not that that's as bad as it sounds like I'm implying."

"I'll take that as a compliment…Actually, I don't quite know myself. In fact, it was love at first sight for me." Natsume stared adoringly at Haru who was playing the piano, "I suppose we just clicked. Simple as that."

"You do know that he'll be separating from you though right?" Miku's question sounded more like a statement.

"That doesn't mean our relationship has to end." Natsume said seriously.

"It will be painful though."

"Love doesn't exist without pain."

"Haha, I'm surprised Haru hooked up with someone so mature… I don't think I'll have to worry about leaving him in your care now." Miku laughed lightly.

"Miku… are you drunk again?" Kaname placed a hand on her shoulder, "We _have_ to take him along with us."

"I don't get drunk that easily." Miku stated bluntly, "I'm seriously considering allowing Haru to stay with Natsume. He's going to have to follow some conditions of course."

"What are you thinking?" Kaname's eyes narrowed.

"I'm thinking I can kill two birds with one stone." Was her nonchalant reply.

* * *

><p>Plot thickening in progress. If you're wondering where we are in the manga, this chapter takes place around chapter 28. Thanks for reading!<p> 


	12. Chapter 10: An Everlasting Nightmare

. . .Summer vacation is almost over. . .

There's a rather lengthy author's note at the bottom (would that be considered a footnote?. .anyways. .). It'd be nice if you could read it. . .since it'll somewhat explain my possible upcoming absences from my so-called "regulated updates". . .and by the aforementioned "possible", I mean HIGHLY LIKELY. :D

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**U know who I am:** You're a verbally abusive person. Your love is also equally abusive. Contents of reviews matters to me more than the amount does . . . It's nice (and preferable) to have something I can legitimately respond to. . .D:

**ShatteredKunai**: Thank you! Here's the update! (. . .Yeah. . . I don't really have much to say. . .so revel in my frankness!)

"Normal speech"

'_Thoughts_'

"_**Flashback yumminess"**_

"**Phone call" **

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Vampire Knight. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino. I own only my plot (I suppose I don't even own the plot, since I'm trying to follow the canon plot. . .so I suppose I own. . .the plot diversions . . .; v ;) and my OCs.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: An Everlasting Nightmare<p>

Miku had a very simple plan. A plan that was so simple, Kaname was surprised he hadn't thought of it earlier. Simply because the Vampire Council knew of her existence…didn't necessarily mean they knew of Haru's. In fact, if they played their cards right, Haru could simply be marked off as dead. But obviously in order for Haru to live with Natsume, a couple of special conditions would have to be agreed upon.

"So let me get this straight. You're saying that you're going to allow me to move in with Natsume upon the conditions that he accepts that I am a vampire…and I learn how to regularly consume the counterfeit blood?" Haru stared at his sister in surprise. The conditions seemed simple enough… Most of it depended on whether or not Natsume could accept that he's a vampire. "Why can't I simply hide the fact that I'm a vampire?"

"After being your elder sister for all fifteen years of your life, I'm proud to say…I know you better than you think I do." Miku responded casually, "And after knowing you just _that_ well, I can confidently say… You're not exactly the most careful person I know. I'd much prefer that you get over the mess of Natsume accidentally finding out you're a vampire somehow...by telling him now. And then in the case that he actually doesn't accept you…Well we're moving by tomorrow, so we would be able to drop the complication all together by removing our existence from them!"

"It sounds…full proof enough…" Kaname swirled his glass around thoughtfully. By now, all the vampires had a glass of liquor…or few (in Miku's case).

"Yeah but…" Haru glanced warily at Natsume.

"You can also consider this a test of love," Miku offered, "After all, I haven't completely approved of Natsume yet."

"That's so old-fashioned though…! Why do you have to approve of whoever I choose to go out with?" Haru puffed his cheeks in defiance.

"Well…considering that in the eyes of most humans this is clearly a pedophilic relationship…I do think I deserve some input on this," Miku gave Haru an unsettling look, "Do remember that Natsume is _twenty_ and you are _fifteen_."

"Okay, okay! I got it!" Haru's hands raised in defense, urging Miku to say no more.

Up until now, Kaname had been fairly silent about Haru's case… This alone unnerved Miku. Judging from the type of person he is, Kaname was probably bottling up all his emotions behind his smiley mask. All those emotions would eventually bubble up and well… they'd be unleashed on an unsuspecting victim—or in Miku's case, completely suspecting.

'_When did I even become Kaname's stress toy anyways?_' Miku sighed in contempt.

"Watch over me then, Onee-chan…" Haru's wary expression transformed into that of a determined one as he sauntered off to tackle one of his largest fears. Himself.

Noticing the unwavering expression on Haru's face, Natsume turned towards him. "Haru?"

"N-Natsume… I have something I'd like to tell you… outside." Haru felt his composure quickly weakening. It was only a matter of time…

"Oh, alright…" Natsume said unsurely as he abandoned his cognac at the bar counter.

* * *

><p>It was another cold night in Tokyo. The temperature was the kind that made people appear to breathe out fog. Haru bundled his coat against him, the nervousness of his upcoming confession bothering him more than the freezing temperatures which surrounded Natsume and him.<p>

"Haru?" Natsume stared at Haru, who had been silent for a long time now. Natsume was observant enough to be able to tell that Haru was definitely nervous about something. He wasn't quite sure of what though.

"I…" Haru started, but his voice trailed off for a long moment.

"You…?" Natsume tried to gently prod at the words which were struggling to come out of Haru's mouth.

"I…I…I have a confession to make…" Haru mentally slapped himself at the obviousness of his statement.

"…I'm…sure you do…" Natsume blinked awkwardly as he suddenly felt the urge to laugh at Haru's silliness.

"I…I'm…" Haru clamped his eyes shut.

"Y-You're…" Haru's nervousness was starting to get to Natsume. Was he going to break up with him or something? Haru's tone made whatever he was going to say seem really bad…

"I'm…"

"…Yes…"

"I'm…I'm…"

"…Y-Yes…Yes?"

"…a vampire." Haru slowly opened his eyes at the climax of his confession.

"Eh?" Natsume started to chuckle a bit, "Really?"

"Y-Yes…!" Haru blushed all the way to his ears.

"R-Reallyyy?" Natsume was now outright laughing.

"Y-YES…" Haru couldn't exactly tell what Natsume's reaction was… It just seemed like he wasn't being taken seriously.

"Oh okay." Natsume's laughter began to decrease, "Is that all?"

"Yes…" Haru stared nervously at Natsume, "Natsume… You know I'm not kidding right?"

"Really?" Natsume leaned over to Haru, giving him a kiss on the lips—make that a French kiss. "Well, I think my tongue brushed along quite the pair of fangs just now." Natsume chuckled in a rather carefree manner.

"THAT…" Haru's face turned completely red, "YOU…"

"It's a French kiss. You like?" Natsume smiled coyly.

"M-My f-first…"

"Score!" Natsume held up a peace sign jovially, "Not only the first kiss…but the first FRENCH kiss!"

"Th-That's…" Haru began to tear up, "That's w-what you're h-happy about? Aren't you bothered at all…by the f-fact that I'm a v-vampire?"

"Not really." Natsume allowed his fingers to casually intertwine with Haru's, "Shall we head back inside? It's quite chilly out here."

"I…I d-don't know w-what to s-say…" Haru stuttered, his blush still fierce as ever. Haru didn't bother to fight against Natsume's hand which was gradually coiling around his.

"You don't have to say anything then!" Natsume replied, as he gave Haru a quick, chaste kiss this time.

The two then walked back into the bar, their hands still intertwined.

"That was rather quick." Miku smiled, looking rather pleased, "Haru, you can move out whenever you'd like to—as long as it's by the end of this month. I only paid for the rent until then anyways."

"Y-You already knew that he would…" Haru's eyes widened at Miku's frankness.

"Let's just say I just had a really good feeling in my gut," The same smile remained on her face, "Just remember the other part of the deal though. I can't always send a blood servant to you, and I doubt you'd want to turn Natsume into a vampire."

"N-Never!" Haru shouted defiantly.

"Good." She smiled one last time, as the rest of the vampires began to exit the bar.

"I hope _Pastel_ is a place you can always return to when times are tough!" Watanuki waved farewell to the group.

"I dearly hope this bar will be around that long." But Miku's words were muted by the chime of the door as the other vampires exited.

"What was that?" Watanuki blinked in curiosity.

"Nothing important!" She shouted back as she was the last one to exit.

"W-Wait… ONEE-CHAN DID YOU PAY THE BILL?" Haru shouted at her sister, whose figure had just disappeared into the distance.

"Don't worry, Haru." Tsujita gestured to Watanuki, whose eyes hungrily stared at a thick wad of bills that he was flipping through.

"Woah… that looks a lot like overpay…" Natsume turned to look at the wad of bills as well.

"It is!" Watanuki grinned, "By ten-thousand yen!"

"Wow! I didn't think you guys were rich enough to overpay that much!" Tsujita raised an eyebrow at Haru.

"We're not… I think…" Haru said slowly, "…I think...Onee-chan was drunk."

"BWAHAHAHA!" Watanuki guffawed, "Tell her that she's welcome back anytime!"

* * *

><p>"Hmm… Well I don't think I need a supply of blood tablets… since the academy should be well stocked… I've already written Haru a note with explicit directions on how he's supposed to handle his living… What else am I missing?" Miku rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She was back home to make some last minute baggage checks before setting off for Aido's mansion.<p>

_Meow._

"Maoko! Where were you?" Miku squatted down to pet the black and white tabby who had just decided to show itself.

_Meow…_

"The chance of Haru eating you for your blood while I was gone frightened you?" Miku chuckled, "Don't be such a pussy cat."

_Meeeow._ Maoko semi-yowled at Miku, obviously offended.

"You talk to your cat…?" Ruka walked up to Miku so that she was beside her. The other vampires were starting to get impatient, so Ruka had decided to see what was holding up Miku.

"Cats are very good listeners." Miku continued petting the tabby which was now purring softly, "Maoko just happens to also be a good responder."

"I see…" Ruka was one of the vampire aristocrats who found it difficult to believe that Miku was actually a pureblood. _'She might just be missing more than a couple screws…'_

Meow.

"Well, that's highly understandable, Maoko." Miku nodded in agreement, "I don't think of myself as much of a pureblood either."

"W-What?" Ruka's eyes widened. It was as if Miku had just read her mind.

"Maoko told me that she could deduce from the look on your face that you probably don't think of me as a pureblood vampire." Miku smiled up at Ruka while scratching Maoko behind the ears.

"Y-You're kidding right?" Ruka stared at the tabby as if waiting for it to say something.

"Haha… I'm pretty much the only one who can hear Maoko speak." Miku laughed lightly, "But I'm not some weirdo that speaks to animals…The only animal I can understand is Maoko. I have no idea why though."

"Is that thing coming along with us?" Ruka stared at the odd cat.

_Meow._ Maoko gave a swish of its tail and jumped onto Miku's shoulder.

"She says, 'of course'." Miku stood up, grabbed the last of her baggage and gestured to Ruka that she was going outside.

Ruka stared incredulously at Miku's fleeting figure, thinking to herself that there was something awfully abnormal about that cat. It reeked of _blood_.

* * *

><p>"Miku…is that a cat?" Kaname asked as he spied the tabby on Miku's shoulder.<p>

"…What does it look like? A dog?" Miku raised a brow at her brother's odd question.

"…Dispose of it immediately." Kaname's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What the heck?" Miku shouted back, "Do you expect me to kill my cat or something?"

"That isn't a cat." Kain replied for Kaname.

"Look…Maoko might be a little fat, but she definitely does not look like a dog. Do you have something against dogs?" Miku pointed at Kaname.

"Your senses must've dulled over the years." Kaname sighed, "It reeks of blood."

"I'm only seven years older than you Kaname…I'm not THAT old…" Miku puffed her cheeks in an offended manner.

"I think that the point Kaname is trying to make is that that cat isn't actually a cat," Ruka said, voicing her suspicion from earlier, "It's a blood servant."

"…What?" Miku's eyes widened as she slowly turned towards Maoko, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY CAT?" She violently shook the Maoko-look-alike.

_Meooow._

"Bullshit. You're not Maoko. Maoko is a cat not a blood servant!" Miku shouted at the tabby.

_Meow._

"…You're saying you've been a blood servant the whole time?" Miku narrowed her eyes, "Whose blood servant? Tell me!"

The rest of the vampires amusedly watched Miku's odd exchange with the cat silently.

_Meow._

"Y-You're…You're kidding…" Miku dropped the cat immediately, suddenly wanting to bathe in rubbing alcohol, "Y-You…can't be…haha…Hahahah…" She began to laugh hysterically.

"Miku?" Aido stared at the half-crazed Miku.

"Not _his_ blood servant… hahaha…" Miku continued to laugh crazily, "Wouldn't he have advised his blood servant not to reveal such crucial information? Especially if he's been spying on Haru and me this whole time…haha…"

"Miku, stand back." Kaname gave a death glare to the blood servant/cat, realizing exactly whose blood servant it was. With a simple motion of his hand, Kaname obliterated the tabby right where it stood. Particles of its blood stood frozen in the air, defying gravity. The blood then slowly formed the words _I'M BACK_ in a sinisterly overdramatic fashion and then separated into microscopic particles as it disappeared with the wind.

All the vampires stood in silence. Exactly who was it that had returned? Only Miku and Kaname knew.

* * *

><p>It was a quiet ride to Aido's mansion. After the previous events, Takuma, with his cheery exterior, managed to usher all the vampires along as daybreak neared. Aido said something highly intelligent for once (in this story) and opted that they all ride the limousine to his mansion. Both Miku and Kaname remained eerily quiet the whole ride, dragging the rest of the vampires into their stark silence.<p>

"Miku, we're here." Kaname offered a hand to Miku, who was the last person left in the limo.

"…Kaname what are we going to do about…you know…_him_?" Miku stared down at her shoes, her arms wrapped around her huddled knees, unaware of the hand being held out towards her.

Kaname let out a soft sigh, as he stepped back into the limo to take a seat beside her. He turned towards her calmly and replied, "I'll take care of him, Miku. Don't worry. I'll protect you."

The expression on Miku's face did not look assured.

"_**Don't go forgetting who it was that opened the lid of that coffin and brought your filthy carcass back to life."**_

Her eyes widened at the sudden flashback and her grip around her knees tightened momentarily. Ever since she was a child, there was one person that scared her the most…the one person who seemed to be the antagonist of all her childhood memories… the one person who would always have her wrapped around his mere pinky… the one person who killed her younger brother and parents…Uncle Rido.

Kaname silently watched as the look on Miku's face slowly wrenched into that of a suffering child. He gently placed his hand on her knee in assurance, hoping to calm her down. She rigidly looked at the hand on her knee, then up to Kaname's worried face.

"Sorry…," Miku apologized, ending her period of muteness.

"What for?" Kaname smiled kindly at her.

"I'm being intolerable aren't I? Just like a little child." She looked back down to towards her feet.

"Not at all. I like the sometimes-childish side of my beloved sister." Kaname replied earnestly.

"Why?"

"It makes me feel like I'm a good person when I spoil you." He chuckled lightly to himself.

"You have ill intentions as always…" Miku's eyes narrowed.

"I don't believe my intentions are ill at all." Kaname once again extended his hand towards her, "Shall we go now? The day is nearing."

Miku nodded and accepted his offered hand.

* * *

><p>Not too long after all their belongings were moved into Aido's mansion, most of the aristocrats went straight to bed.<p>

Miku was having a fairly difficult time sleeping, and when she finally did lose consciousness, her dreams were only plagued by nightmares.

* * *

><p>The more Uncle Rido's return became apparent to Miku, the more flashbacks she started to experience. They were deep, dark memories that she had wished never existed. As a result of her rejection of those memories, her vampire abilities unconsciously kicked in and tried to block away all the scarring memories of her past.<p>

"_**Where's my favorite niece?" Rido chimed as he stepped jovially into Haruka and Juri's mansion.**_

"_**You mean your only niece?" Haruka's eyes narrowed dangerously toward Rido, "Stop trying to steal my daughter away from me, you pedophile! Brother or not, Miku is too young for your 'ministrations'. She's only five!"**_

"_**You're just jealous because you want Miku to remain 'Daddy's little girl'." Rido jeered.**_

There was a time when Rido's corrupted intentions had not surfaced, and his obsession over Juri had not yet driven him to kill off Haruka and (inevitably) Juri. It was before Kaname was born. These happy moments in Miku's memories were ephemeral.

"_**Uncle Rido!" A five year old Miku shouted cheerfully as she ran up to hug her beloved uncle, "You're going to play with me today right? You promised!"**_

"_**Of course I will! I always keep my promises," Rido laughed as he playfully ruffled her hair, "So what is it today? Hide-and-seek?"**_

Up until Rido had kidnapped and killed Miku's real younger brother, the two had been rather close.

"_**You know, at this rate Rido may actually steal Miku away from us," Juri sighed, "Whenever Rido is around, it's like she's permanently attached to his leg. She follows his every beck and call. She might just follow him out of the house one day and never return to us." **_

"_**I know!" Haruka comically gnawed at a handkerchief with tears streaming out of his eyes, "It's almost hard to believe how much Rido and I fought over you back in the days. He looks so happy when he's around Miku that I always have to stop and pinch myself to check if I'm dreaming."**_

"_**Yeah…,"**_ Juri's voice faded off into the distance as Miku's memory lapses continued.

When did those happy moments turn into lies?

"_**Uncle Rido, why do you always stare at mommy so much?" The now six year old Miku asked as she looked up towards Rido who was pushing the swing she sat on.**_

His only reply was a silent, forced smile. A smile that she _would've_ understood if she was a bit smarter and a bit older. It was a smile that showed his innermost desires. Desires that screamed about his obsession over Juri. His unrequited _love_ for Juri.

Now, she knew all too well of what unrequited love felt like.

_**It was a dark and dreary day. Nimbostratus clouds loomed over the Kuran household, threatening to unleash a heavy storm. Uncle Rido was coming back to visit since he heard the news about the birth of Miku's new baby brother, Kaname. Miku waited excitedly near the door, well aware of the fact that her dear Uncle Rido was going to visit soon. She expected the usual occurrence: Uncle would walk in, she would hug him cheerily as a greeting, mother and father would greet him from a distance, and then she would get to play with Uncle the rest of the day. She pouted a bit when her parents pointed out that he was coming to visit Kaname, but that didn't mean he couldn't play with her afterwards. **_

_**Miku braced herself at the sound of the mansion's double doors being opened by their butler. She readied herself to run up and hug Uncle Rido…**_

_**But then she stopped right before she was about to hug her uncle. **_

_**Uncle Rido seemed different today.**_

"…_**Uncle?" Miku called out hesitantly, her arms still partially apart from the hug she didn't quite give to her beloved uncle.**_

"_**Yes…?" Rido responded as he bent over and ruffled Miku's hair.**_

"_**N-Nevermind!" Miku smiled, dismissing the dark aura that seemed to surround Uncle Rido. She dutifully latched onto his arm, tugging him along with her, "I'll show you where Kaname is! Mommy and Daddy are with him."**_

"_**Why thank you, Miku," Her uncle chuckled slightly. His chuckle sounded a bit sinister.**_

_**Her mother and father greeted Uncle Rido as they usually did. Her mother carefully cradled Kaname in her arms, cooing at him every now and then. Her father behaved in a similar manner, smothering his newborn son with more than enough love to fill the room. **_

"_**Is that your darling son? What's his name?" Rido drawled. **_

"_**Yes, his name is Kaname," Her mother allowed the baby to grab her finger with his tiny hands.**_

"_**Kaname?" Her uncle's expression turned into that of an interested one.**_

_**Miku nervously watched her parents' and uncle's exchange. The atmosphere felt stiff. She feebly tugged at her Uncle's sleeve, "Are we going to play today?"**_

"_**Of course, Miku," His voice sounded ominously sweet. Her parents noticed his odd behavior and looked at him suspiciously. "Miku, how about we play hide-and-seek today? I'll seek, you hide, okay? Why don't you go find a hiding spot? I'm going to speak with your parents for a bit."**_

"_**O-Okay…" Miku's head bobbed slightly in acceptance as she quietly exited the room.**_

"_**Maybe it's a good thing after all… To give birth to a new life, with all the hidden promises and the unknown factors that come with it…" Rido muttered softly with a slightly sullen look on his face.**_

"…_**Would you like to hold him in your arms? Huh, 'Uncle Rido'?" Her mother offered her uncle, dismissing his odd behavior earlier.**_

_**Rido reached over to carry the child, but upon doing so, droplets of preferably unmentioned liquids dropped to the floor. Rido gave a slight frown.**_

"_**Ah! I'm so sorry! I thought it would still be fine, but…" Juri covered her mouth with her hand as she reddened in embarrassment.**_

"_**It's because you are bad at changing diapers. I'm very good at it…" Rido chuckled softly while looking down at the child, "…Because I had the experience of taking care of my little brother and little sister."**_

"_**Let me see… I'll go get you cleaned up, Kaname. And I'll also get changed out of the shirt which you got all wet."**_

"_**Brother, I'll take care of...," Her father began, but was ignored by Uncle Rido who was already about to leave the room, "Brother…"**_

_**Upon hearing her uncle about to exit the room, Miku, who was eavesdropping behind the door, scampered off. **_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Uncle Ridooo…? Where are youuu?" Miku's tiny footsteps echoed throughout one of the many unoccupied corridors of her house, "I've been hiding for ages already!" <strong>_

_**It had been indeed well over an hour since Rido had agreed to play hide-and-seek with her. Miku found it odd that her uncle would take this long to find her. Usually it would only take a mere five minutes. **_

_**Miku decided to find her uncle instead. She followed the faint scent of her uncle and wound up at a part of her house that she had never ventured into. It was a dark and frightening corridor that seemed to never end as she slowly crept through the darkness, using the cold, stone walls as support to keep her from tripping. Finally she reached the stone, double doors which were slightly ajar and loomed over her small figure. The crack in the doors let out a bit of light which she hadn't noticed as she ambled down the dark passageway. It was sort of like the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel"…Except the sight she saw within was far from any particular salvation.**_

_**It was only the same nightmare that plagued Miku's childhood along with the death of her parents.**_

"…ku…Miku…Miku…?" Kaname called out to Miku as he tried to shake her awake. Miku was currently in a state more pitiful than Kaname had ever witnessed her in. She was crying and whimpering in her sleep while curled tightly into a fetal position. It looked as if she had regressed back into a small child that was still unable to let go of its mother's hand.

Miku's eyes snapped open as she felt herself being pulled out of her nightmare. She looked up to see the concerned face of Kaname. His hand was still on her arm, slightly gripping the sleeve of her pajamas.

"I-I'm sorry…did I wake you?" Miku's eyes were still watery and small red puffs from when she was crying in her sleep underlined them.

"It's fine." Kaname let out a soft sigh, "But are you feeling alright?"

"S-Sort of…I suppose yeah…" Miku gripped her blankets. It was a small action to reassure herself that the nightmare was over and that she was brought back to reality.

It was bright outside… Currently a time in the day that was likely too early for any normal vampire to be awake during.

"Y-You can go back to sleep now, brother…," Miku said in a feeble voice, still shaken from her vivid nightmare.

"I'd much rather stay up and lose a little sleep to make sure you're okay." Kaname sat on top of Miku's bed and placed himself beside her. He pulled her closer to him by snaking an arm around her shoulder; the sudden action caused her head to fall onto his (shoulder).

When the vampires had arrived in Aido's mansion, there was a small debate over who'd sleep with who—not that there was really any need to fight over rooms since there were plenty of vacant ones. In the end, the aristocrats had decided to each have a room to themselves…with the exception of Kaname. Kaname had opted to room in with Miku (for reasons unstated), and Miku was too sleepy to refute his decision. So it had ended with Kaname carrying Miku over to their extra large room with two large beds (courtesy of Aido).

Miku mumbled a few incoherent phrases in response to Kaname's action, and slowly drifted back to sleep with her head leaning on his shoulder. Kaname then slowly leaned back, lowering both himself and Miku backwards to lie comfortably on the pillow behind them. Kaname then allowed himself to fall asleep beside her, as he was lulled to slumber by a combination of the peaceful rise and fall of Miku's chest and her soft breathing. The rest of their sleep was undisturbed.

* * *

><p>*hears the sound of shounen-ai haters retching*. . . I'd be in the same boat (depite writing the scene myself). . .but I've curbed my subtle hatred of shounen-ai. . .because I realized something a while ago that it took me until now to accept: usually mangaanime artists that have a particular fondness of yaoi/shounen-ai. . .draw really sexy guys. (This author is a damn straight sucker for bishies.). . .Yeah. I said it. It's true. *sigh*

OT: That was quite a freakishly complicated twist (or maybe not so much)! Haha. . .so Maoko was actually an evil cat. . .Good thing I told you guys to completely disregard that filler chapter I had posted up a while ago (I've already deleted it though—if you haven't noticed). So now we discover more of Miku's convoluted past—the things shrouded by her self-afflicted "memory loss". Sorry for the ridiculously long flashback sequences.

The flashbacks fill in more of the nitty-gritty evil Rido moments and may require some of you to go back and reread chapter two and three (where these flashbacks began) for some clarity. If anything else confuses you feel free to review/pm/whatever with questions. (:

This might just be the last of my more regulated updates . . . (yeah it wasn't very regulated at all… I know I said 'once a week' yadda yadda . . .) . . . But I've got school to deal with and a fairly busy life (which includes the remodeling of my house). I'll still _try_ to fit in an update once a month or so. This sort of feels like the last time I went semi-inactive from fanfiction writing . . . it resulted with me completely disappearing for a couple (or was it a few?) years . . . then finally announcing that the rest of my stories were put on an inevitable hiatus. . .and then I started this. Oh my god. The pattern might just be repeating! Quick! Prevent this from happening by reviewing and motivating me to write (Yeah, I'm no better than those mangy writers that are fueled by reviews. I always have been. Suck it up.)!

P.S. I'm sorry if my grammar sucks. . .or if there's a bunch of spelling/punctuation errors. . . I've gradually become lazy with them and I'm just writing off the top of my head nowadays. Go ahead and point out the mistakes for me and I'll be glad to fix 'em. . .or if anyone wants to beta for me. . .(a tentative offer perhaps?). I don't know how the beta system works though. . .haha. . . . *fails*


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